The Reincarnation
by NekoShinigami
Summary: Finally finished! Vincent thinks his life is normal, until two unexpected characters show up and turn his life upside down! Vincent reunites with Lucrecia for the last time, and a friend, and possibly even more, is there to comfort him. R and R!
1. New Friends, New Enemies

In the dark, Forgotten City, a man sat, staring at the mako crystals. Tears were brimming in his crimson eyes as he stared at the young woman imprisoned in the crystals. He had pale skin (with dramatic black shadows around his eyes) and long, unkempt, black hair. He was enshrouded in a ragged scarlet cloak, which covered his black clothes. His cloak covered the lower half of his face and was held closed by a series of buckles. His left arm below the elbow was covered by a golden, metal gauntlet that ended in large claws. A pink ribbon was tied around the wrist of his gauntlet. He was already in his sixties, but physically he would remain 27.

He said quietly, "Lucrecia, what am I supposed to do to end the torture that I must go through?"

The woman named Lucrecia didn't move, but her whispering voice was carried through the wind, bouncing off the crystals so the man could hear her. "Repent, Vincent; that is what you must do. Help the people of Edge."

Vincent Valentine nodded, and Lucrecia seemed to smile, but it vanished quickly. "Vincent, what has happened to my son?" Vincent didn't say anything. He just looked down and started to scratch a pattern into the ground with one of his metal fingers. "Ah, I see. He is dead, yes?"

Vincent whispered, "Yes. He was killed for the first time nine years ago by my friend, Cloud. I helped to kill him for the second time, along with my partners. That was three years ago. But he came back a year ago, and we killed him again. We knew that he was planning to destroy the planet. I'm sorry, Lucrecia."

"I understand. Jenova was no good. Neither was Hojo. I only went to him because I was upset. If I had been with you, I wouldn't have ever forgiven myself for being the cause of your father's death. Sephiroth was the son of Hojo and Jenova. He was just like them."

Out of nowhere, a phone rang loudly. Vincent pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and answered it. After a brief conversation, Vincent hung up and started to leave. "I need to go. Cloud needs me."

"Vincent." Vincent turned to Lucrecia. "Be strong. I'm with you. Remember to repent." Vincent nodded and lifted his gauntlet up to his forehead and saluted Lucrecia slightly. He hoisted his tri-barreled gun, Cerberus, up onto his right shoulder and left the Forgotten City.

In Edge, Vincent finally reached his friend Tifa's bar, Seventh Heaven. When he opened the door, a little girl ran to him and hugged him around his waist. He looked down and saw his friend Barret's previously adopted daughter, Marlene (Cloud and Tifa had adopted her when Barret couldn't provide for her), staring up at him. He snickered quietly. Marlene used to be afraid of him. Vincent could see why. He was an ageless monster who was very stern and deadly with no emotions. He absentmindedly patted Marlene's head and asked, "Marlene, is Cloud here?"

Marlene let go of his leg and said, "Yes. Follow me! I'll show you where he is." She put her little hand in his and walked up the stairs. She stopped outside a door and whispered to Vincent, "Denzel has a little cold today. Tifa and Cloud are taking care of him. Do you remember who Denzel is?"

Vincent remembered who Denzel was. Both Marlene and Denzel lived with Cloud and Tifa. Cloud and Tifa were engaged, and had adopted the two orphans as their own children. Denzel had been a victim of the Geostigma last year, and so had Cloud. Apparently, anyone with Jenova cells got the stigma. But when Cloud defeated Sephiroth (yet again), a spring had grown in the church where Vincent's dead friend Aerith used to spend her time. The water in the spring cured the stigma.

Vincent kneeled down to Marlene and said quietly, "Go watch the bar." Marlene nodded and skipped down the stairs, but not before waving goodbye to Vincent. She was an adorable little girl, about seven, with dark-brown hair and big hazel eyes with long eyelashes. She had a white sleeveless sweater and a long white skirt with pink high tops. Her hair was styled like Aerith's and tied back with a large pink ribbon. Anyone would've fallen in love with her innocence, except for Vincent. Past experiments on him had probably washed the emotion of love out of his body. Besides, innocent people would never last an hour in the real world.

He opened the door and quietly stepped inside. Tifa and Cloud were sitting face to face, whispering to each other as Denzel slept fitfully.

Tifa Lockhart was a very pretty 23 year old, with waist length black hair and dark brown eyes. She wore a black top that zipped up like a sweater, and black knee length shorts with a multi-length (it was above her knees in the front and to her ankles in the back) skirt over it. Her left arm had a pink ribbon tied on it. She was very serious, but caring, especially toward her fiancé, Cloud.

Cloud Strife was very serious and somewhat mysterious, as well. The 24 year old had bright blue mako eyes (when he had worked for Shinra, he had been exposed to mako energy, the life force of the planet, which gave his eyes a weird glow) and spiky blond hair, which Barret constantly made fun of. Vincent thought that Cloud's hair made him look like a chocobo, but Cloud could defeat Sephiroth, so Vincent didn't say anything. He wore a sleeveless sweater and shoulder armor on his right arm. He wore black cargo pants and half of a long, sleeveless overcoat (on the left side) held in place by a belt. On his left arm, he also wore a pink ribbon. He used to be very enigmatic when Vincent first met him, then he began to assume a leader position and softened a bit. Still, the SOLDIER strength never left him, even if he had only been a lowly grunt in Shinra's army.

Vincent closed the door and said, "You wanted to see me?" Tifa jumped and stifled a quick shriek, and Cloud inhaled sharply in surprise.

Cloud quickly recovered and said, "Oh good, Vincent, you're here. Well, there's a village being bothered by Sephiroth remnants, again. Barret is there, trying to load them into Cid's airship. We've got pilots, we just need someone to patrol the borders of the city and make sure that no one gets in or out. So…"

Vincent interrupted him. "So you want me to go to the village and be a security guard." Cloud nodded, and Vincent started for the door. "I have other things to do."

"Please, Vincent!" Tifa begged. "We need someone to do it. We're bringing them back here. It's the village where all of the past Shinra experiments live. You may even find someone there that's just…just like… I mean…ummm."

"Just like me," Vincent returned coldly, and Tifa frowned. "I don't need a support group or club or anything. I work better solo."

They were interrupted by a weak coughing. Vincent, Cloud, and Tifa turned to look at Denzel, who had propped himself up on the bed. He was a small eleven year old, with downy brownish-blonde hair and bright blue-green eyes. Denzel had been a Geostigma victim, and he had been the last person to be cured of the stigma.

"Vincent," Denzel rasped, "My brothers have been killing them. Not just the men, but the women, and the children too."

Cloud and Denzel were "brothers", because they were both infested with Jenova cells. Jenova was their "mother", and Sephiroth and his remnants were their "brothers". The Sephiroth remnants were always looking for their "mother". They would do anything to find Jenova, even kill the people that stood in their way.

Vincent didn't love children like Tifa did. He didn't even love them like Cloud did. But children were the future heroes and villains of Edge. Vincent knew what he had to do.

He nodded and held out Cerberus. Cloud pulled First Sword out of its sheath and carefully tapped the top barrel of Cerberus. Tifa smiled, shook her head, and said "Boys."

Denzel looked up at Vincent, his big eyes locked on Vincent's crimson ones. "We'll be waiting for you," he said solemnly. Vincent held up his metal hand like he was part of an oath. Denzel smiled slightly, and Vincent lowered his arm. He went to the door and left the room.

Downstairs, Vincent was just about to leave through the bar entrance when Marlene stopped him. "Vincent," she said as he turned the handle on the door, "Are you leaving again?"

Vincent said, "Yes, Marlene."

Marlene's eyes got wide, and her bottom lip started to quiver. "But you just got here!" she complained.

Vincent didn't panic or try to calm her down. He just said, "I'll be back soon. Maybe I'll have some new playmates for you and Denzel."

Marlene got out from behind the bar and ran over to Vincent. "Be safe," she said, and hugged him tightly. Vincent didn't know what to do, so he started to crouch down and hug her back. She backed away and went behind the bar again. "Take care!" she shouted as Vincent walked out the door.

Halfway across Edge, Vincent reached his old partners; Barret Wallace, Cid Highwind, and Yuffie Kisaragi standing by the _Shera_, Cid's airship. Reeve Tuesti, Nanaki, and Cait Sith were there as well, along with a young man that Vincent didn't know.

Yuffie started to jump up and down and wave hysterically. Yuffie had medium black hair that reached her shoulders and brown eyes. She was a 19 year old ninja from Wutai. She had on a black and white top that revealed her midriff and a black vest, along with a headband that matched her shirt. She had on black shorts and long black knee socks and long khaki high tops. Her large shuriken was tied to her back, and the handle of her shuriken and her left arm had pink ribbons on them.

Barret was very tough. He was 38 and had been the leader of AVALANCHE, the group that had risen up against Shinra. His right arm had been replaced by a gun. On his left arm, he had a pink ribbon. He had on a sleeveless mesh shirt and a white, denim jacket. He had black pants tucked into black boots. His black hair had been braided into cornrows, and his dark skin was almost as dark as his hair and his brown eyes.

Cid was probably the one of the nicest of his former partners. He was a 35 year old pilot with a western accent. He wore a blue tee-shirt, a red jacket tied around his waist, and khaki pants tucked into black boots. His spiky blond hair had been pulled out of his blue eyes by a pair of brownish red goggles, and he had a toothpick in his mouth (his wife Shera had made him stop smoking). To top it all off, he had a pink ribbon on his left arm as well.

Reeve had slicked back hair and he wore a blue floor length robe. He had worked for Shinra, but he had been concerned about the welfare of the planet. He held a robotic black and white cat named Cait Sith in his arms. Cait Sith was an eccentric robot with a Scottish accent. He wore a little golden crown and a pink ribbon tied around his neck.

Nanaki, or Red XIII, as Hojo had called him, was a bright red firelion. He had a large headdress on and black tattoo-like markings on his fur. He had a pink ribbon tied onto his front, left paw.

The young man had spiky silvery-black hair that fell to his shoulders. He had his head down, and his bright teal eyes were just visible under his eyebrows. He wore a white, sleeveless shirt and baggy, green pants. He also had on a long black overcoat, covered with many belts around his waist. He had two identical swords, one on his back, the other at his waist. It was the swords that caught Vincent's attention. They were long, black swords with silver handles. The handles were fashioned to look like a man that greatly resembled Lucrecia's son, Sephiroth. He had very pale skin, and he looked as if he was about 21.

Vincent walked forward and said, "Okay, I'm checking in. What do I need to do?"

Yuffie said quickly, "You and Jay are going to patrol the borders of the town to make sure no one gets in or out unless they have an ID. You can only let someone in if they have a villager's ID. If they have a mercenary's ID, you can only let them out."

Vincent nodded and answered, "Okay. I understand everything except for the part about me and, ummm…., Jay?"

Barret pointed to the young man and said, "This is Jayden. Decided to help us a lil' while back. Most people are callin' 'im Jay." At this, Jayden held up his right hand in a small salute.

Vincent nodded sternly and said, "I'm on the job. Just make sure that he doesn't get in my way."

Jayden walked over to Vincent and they started patrolling, with Yuffie calling, "Be careful!"

It was mostly quiet until Jayden asked, "What happened to you?"

Vincent didn't look at him as he coldly asked, "What do you mean?"

Jayden said uneasily, "Well, I'm a villager here because Shinra chose me to carry on Sephiroth's legacy. Sephiroth's blood was mixed with mine 10 years ago, when I was 11, so I carry part of Sephiroth in me. A year later, when Sephiroth burned down Nibelheim, Shinra moved me here, so I wouldn't betray them. What type of experiments did Hojo do on you?"

Vincent said quietly, "Hojo and I got into an argument about whether performing experiments with Jenova cells on Hojo and Lucrecia's unborn child was right. Hojo killed me, and then he performed experiments on me that brought me back to life and immortalized me. That happened 33 years ago, when I was 27. Hojo kept experimenting on me, and it was slowly killing me again, but then Lucrecia, my love interest and Hojo's lover, put the G substance in me. I can turn into Chaos and other forms now."

Jayden asked, "Hey, isn't Lucrecia the name of…"

Vincent answered quickly, "Yes, Jayden, that's the name of Sephiroth's mother. That's the Lucrecia I'm talking about. I actually was with her for a few years afterwards, but no Sephiroths were the result of that. She actually imprisoned herself in some mako crystals about 18 years ago because she wasn't allowed to see Sephiroth. But just out of curiosity, how did you know?"

Jayden looked down at his feet and said, "Well, I saw your eyes. People who have Jenova, Sephiroth, or mako experiments performed on them have bright blue, blue-green, or teal eyes that have that weird glow, like me. Anyone who had another type of "Hojo" experiment performed on them has crimson eyes, like you. Oh, and, call me Jay."

Vincent nodded and said, "Okay, Jay."

Just then a girl of about nineteen rushed to the barrier and fell at Vincent's feet. She panted, "They're after me! Help me!"

Vincent pulled her up and thrust her at Jay. "Does she have an ID?"

Jay quickly pulled an ID card off the chain on her neck and said, "Yep, she's a villager."

Vincent pulled out Cerberus and got it into a ready position. He turned back to look at Jay and the girl. "Jay," he ordered, "Take her to the _Shera _and keep her safe until you get there."

Jay shook his head and took out his swords. "I'm helping you," he announced. He pressed the sword into the girl's hands a little too roughly, cutting her hands and making her gasp. She hoisted the sword into a ready position and stood next to Jay.

For five quiet minutes, nothing happened, and then the remnants came running up. There were four of them, all with silver hair and teal eyes. The girl swung Jay's sword, but the first remnant grabbed the girl's wrist without much difficulty and wrenched the sword out of her hand. Vincent fired Cerberus 3 times, hitting the second remnant and killing him. The three remnants swiftly dodged their fallen comrade's body and walked up to Jay.

The first remnant handed Jay's sword back to him, and all three remnants kneeled before him. "Brother," the first remnant said, "We need you now. We found the last person with Cetra blood in her. Now we can control the planet and place Mother on the throne. We just need the Cetra." He glanced at the girl, who trembled in fear and stepped back, knocking into Vincent.

Jay's face contorted in anger as he screamed, "You liars!" His arms, firmly grasping his swords, flew quickly to the chests of the remnants to his right and left. As they fell forward, dead, the remaining remnant came forward, his hand reaching for his gun. Suddenly there was the sound of cracking bones and a gunshot, and the last remnant fell face-down to the ground, with a bullet hole in his back. Jay looked up in astonishment to see Vincent, with his gun pointed at the remnant's back, and the girl, with her bloody hands held up in fists.

Jay put his swords in their sheaths and said, "Thanks, Vincent. Thanks, miss." Vincent turned and got a good look at the girl for the first time.

She had glossy black hair that trailed on the floor, but it was braided so tightly that it ended up just brushing the floor. It was clasped with a iron ring, which she probably swung around to hit people. Her crimson eyes glinted in the sunlight. Her pale skin made her deep rose lips stand out. She had a navy blue pleated skirt on over white, skintight, knee length shorts. She wore small, golden slip on shoes that matched the simple golden chain on her neck. She was wearing a pale blue corset top with ribbon straps and white bell sleeves that were not connected to the shirt and began at her elbows and ended at her wrists. She lowered her fists and held them clutched behind her back.

She looked down and whispered, "Thank _you_, for helping me. I'm Asha." She shook Jay's hand and extended her hand toward Vincent, who stared at it coldly. She pulled her hand back and murmured, "I'm sorry I didn't listen to you."

Vincent turned away and holstered Cerberus. "Did your parents ever teach you anything?" he asked.

Asha put her hands on her hips in a very Tifa-like manner and said, "I didn't have any parents. Did _your _parents ever teach you not to talk about private things like that?"

Jay snickered and Vincent gave him a look. Jay shrugged and said, "Well, Asha, thank you for helping us." Asha smiled and suddenly winced as she moved her hands around. Vincent quickly walked over to her and pulled her hands open. There were two long gashes on each hand, from Jay's sword.

Asha bit her lips and fought back tears as Vincent pulled a potion out of his pocket. He poured it on her hands and wrapped her hands in pieces of his cloak. She smiled and thanked him quickly, then she started walking back to the _Shera_, with Jay and Vincent behind her.

It was a quiet walk. Jay had sped up to walk next to Asha, and they were talking quietly in a dialect that only they could understand. Vincent walked behind, thinking about how stupid Asha must've been to stay there. But, he thought, she was a lot like Tifa, and Tifa would never flee from a battle.

Asha turned around and said, "Vincent, I'm sorry. I should've been more careful, and I should've listened to you." Vincent nodded to indicate that he accepted her apology, and they finally reached the _Shera._

Yuffie was pacing in front of the gangway of the _Shera _when the others returned. She jumped up and said, "Oh, thank the Cetra! You're all right! Who's she? Is she a villager? I hope she is, because if she isn't we would have to fire you…" she stopped abruptly and jumped in the air, shrieking, as Vincent pulled out Cerberus and fired it three times in the air.

"Yuffie," Vincent said as he holstered Cerberus, "We're fine. Calm down. This is Asha, she's probably about your age." Yuffie nodded and took a deep breath. She beckoned for the trio to follow her, and she boarded the _Shera._

Vincent leaned against a wall as the _Shera _took off. He could hear Yuffie moaning slightly and the clatter of the glass bottle as Jay tossed her a tranquilizer. Soon, Yuffie and Asha got to talking, and then Jay went over to join them. Vincent closed his eyes to rest for a little while. Suddenly, Jay ran over.

"Vincent," he whispered. Vincent opened his right eye and stared at Jay. "It's about Asha," he continued.

Vincent opened his eyes and quickly turned to Jay, grabbed his shoulders and said, "What about her?"

"Well," Jay stammered, "She was talking about her family with Yuffie. She said that her mother's name was Lucrecia, and that Lucrecia disappeared eighteen years ago, when she was one. She said she didn't know who her father was, and she looks kind of like you. Look at her eyes, and her hair!"

Vincent took a good look at her and was surprised at what he saw. She looked almost like Lucrecia, with Vincent's eyes and hair. He turned back to Jay and said, "When we get back to Edge, I'm going to take her to a hospital and get a paternity test. But, I don't believe that I had any children with Lucrecia."

"But Vincent!" Jay protested. "You only said that you didn't have any Sephiroths with Lucrecia. You never said anything about having any Ashas with Lucrecia."

"You know what I meant!" Vincent replied curtly.

"Did you say my name?" Asha asked, making them both jump. She had walked up to where they were without either of them knowing.

Jay stammered, "Vincent wants me to take you to a hospital in Edge, you know, ummm… to check on your hands and stuff!"

Asha smiled and said, "Well, that's sweet of you." She placed her hand on Jay's wrist and ran her hand slowly up and down his arm. "Of _both _of you," she added, and walked away. Vincent snickered as he saw Jay staring at her with his mouth open.

Jay turned back to Vincent and sighed, "Well, she certainly knows how to hit on someone."

"Did it work?" Vincent asked, and he stifled a laugh as Jay turned scarlet, buried his head in his hand, and nodded slightly.

Cid turned around from his seat in the cockpit and said, "Put yer asses down in yer seats! We're landing!" Vincent didn't listen to him, but wished that he did as the _Shera _landed roughly and everyone was jolted across the floor. Yuffie ended up rolling onto Vincent's feet, and Asha ended up falling into Jay's arms.

Vincent quickly pulled Yuffie up, and helped her to the bathroom as she started to vomit, and Jay ended up holding Asha in an awkward embrace. Asha righted herself with Jay holding her waist to make sure she didn't fall down again. "Thanks," she said.

Jay shrugged, "It was nothing." Asha stood up on her toes and kissed Jay lightly on the cheek and went to help Cid round up the children and get them off the airship.

Jay heard a soft humming, and he turned around to see Barret and Yuffie (who still looked sick and frail) humming "Secret Lovers". Jay mock-growled and ran for Barret. Jay succeeded in making him stumble backwards, and then Tifa and Cloud ran into the airship.

Tifa walked over to Barret and Yuffie, and said, "Did everything go as planned?"

Yuffie hugged Tifa and said, "Yep, but we got some extra help." Tifa turned around to look at Jay and Yuffie said, "This is Jay. He was helping Vincent out by patrolling the village."

Cloud walked over to Jay and said, "Vincent told me a little about you. You seem to have a lot of power. You could probably join the crew if you wa…" His bright blue eyes lost focus as he locked onto Jay's teal eyes. He swayed, fell to the ground and started convulsing.

Jay panicked and tried to pull him up, not listening to the instructions that Tifa was screaming. Suddenly, it started to rain outside. Jay lifted up Cloud's convulsing body and dragged him outside. Cloud opened his mouth and the cold raindrops on his tongue seemed to magically stop the convulsions.

Cloud pulled himself up and edged away. Tifa cried out and ran over to Cloud. He stroked the top of her head and they stared coldly at Jay, as did the rest of the crew.

Cloud could only say one thing. "That was your first chance, _remnant_. Any more problems, and you will be banished like the traitor you are." He turned and walked back to the Seventh Heaven, with the rest of the crew following him.

Jay locked eyes with Asha, who was following the crew with the rest of the villagers in front of her. She smiled sadly and started to walk back to him, but Vincent put his arm around her and started walking briskly, leaving Jay alone.

Jay sat down, propped up against the _Shera._ Cid came out of the airship and sat down next to him. It was silent for about five minutes, and then Cid said, "You know, what Cloud said, he didn't mean nothin' by it. He's just being a royal pain in the ass, like always. Go on ahead. I'm sure none of them are gonna think badly of you."

"What about Tifa, and Yuffie, and Vincent?" Jay asked.

"If you explain what happened, Tifa ain't gonna hold nothin' against you. Brat and Vince aren't anythin' to worry about," Cid said. "Oh, and in case yer wonderin', Yuffie is Brat."

Jay smiled and said, "Thanks, Captain," as he stood up.

Cid said, "Shucks, don't mention it. Oh, and it's Cid to you. Go on ahead, I've gotta go put this baby in a landing dock."

Jay stood up and started walking towards the Seventh Heaven, feeling oddly happy after the talk he had with Cid.

Cloud held Tifa close to him as he walked back towards the Seventh Heaven. A few words kept flashing through his eyes over and over again. _Jenova, remnants, Jayden, traitors, Sephiroth_. Cloud shuddered and kept walking. As they reached the bar, Marlene and Denzel ran out. Tifa took her hands off of Cloud's side and ran to Denzel. She wrapped him in a huge bear hug, which he returned. Marlene ran over to Cloud and he picked her up.

He looked into her hazel eyes and thought about how he had failed to kill Sephiroth three times. Now the remnants were after him. They were going to kill everyone that he loved. He stumbled and set Marlene down quickly. Concerned, Marlene took his hand as he fell onto one knee. Cloud winced and smiled slightly.

Marlene stared at him and said, "Cloud, are you all right?" Tifa and Denzel looked up and ran over to him. They stood anxiously by him as he got up. Tifa put her hand on Cloud's cheek and opened her mouth to say something, and then closed it again. She took held Cloud's hand with her right hand and put her left hand on Denzel's shoulder. Marlene reached up and held Cloud's right hand, and the four of them led the way to the Seventh Heaven.

As Marlene and Denzel went in, along with the rest of the villagers, Tifa stopped Cloud. She pulled him to the side. "Cloud," she began anxiously, "Are you alright? You haven't had an outbreak that bad for a long time."

Cloud looked away and said quietly, "I'm fine. Just don't try to explain it to Marlene and Denzel. It'll scare them." He turned to walk away, but Tifa stopped him.

"Cloud, cut it out!" Tifa said. "You think that the remnants are going to destroy the planet, don't you? And you think that you're going to fail. Well, snap out of it! I can help you!" She burst into tears and sobbed, "Think about Marlene and Denzel! Think about me! Please!"

Cloud put his arms around her and said, "Tifa. Teef, please." Tifa looked up, shocked that Cloud was using her pet name. As she looked up, Cloud leaned over and kissed her.

They stood there for a few minutes until they heard Yuffie shout, "Hey, get a room!" They looked up and blushed. Cloud growled and grabbed Yuffie around the waist. Tifa laughed as he slung her over his shoulder and Yuffie waved. Then the three of them walked inside, and none of them noticed the dark figure edging up behind them.

Jay stared at the large bar and was about to turn around and walk away when he heard a voice say, "What are you doing, remnant? Are you going to run away, back to your brothers and sisters? I don't think that they'll let a traitor come back to them." Jay drew his sword and turned around, slashing like crazy, but Asha easily sidestepped the clumsy attack.

Jay said, "Asha, don't say that! I thought you were my friend." Asha took Jay's sword and started twirling and flipping it with ease.

Asha started tapping the sword into the air with her foot and said, "I am your friend. But, I'll keep taunting you if you leave and don't ask for forgiveness. Cloud will forgive you if you explain that you couldn't help what happened."


	2. The First Signs

Tifa began fixing drinks and watching the villagers. The men were in a corner, slowly getting drunk. The women were in another, silently fixing children's clothing. The children were in a third corner, listening to a story that Marlene was reading out loud with help from Denzel, who was whispering out the words. In the last corner, the members of AVALANCHE were holding a conversation about Asha and Jay. Tifa exited from behind the bar table and joined them. They were crammed into a tiny booth, but Tifa found room to sit down next to Cloud.

"I tell ya," said Barret loudly, the result of three hard drinks in the last half hour, "That Jay's no fuckin' good."

Yuffie bounced up and down in her seat until Vincent put his hand on her shoulder. He said coldly, "If you have something to say, just say it. Don't knock us off the seat trying to get everyone's attention."

Yuffie grimaced and said, "Why should you be saying that when you hired him in the first place. Maybe he isn't all that bad. I mean, he did try and help Cloud. He knew that the rain would help him."

Cloud looked up from his drink and said quietly, "Yes, but that doesn't cancel out the fact that he was the one who started my seizure in the first place."

Nanaki brushed against Cloud's legs under the table and said, "Do you know that, Cloud? The boy might not have been the cause of it. Maybe it was a slight Geostigma relapse."

Cloud immediately checked his left arm for signs of bruising or scars and Tifa kicked him under the table and said, "Shut up, Nanaki. We know that it was Jay that caused it." Nanaki was silent, except for the occasional whimper, and Tifa reached down to stroke his red fur. "I'm sorry," she said lamely.

Cid came and squeezed into the booth with two drinks in his hands. "Shera may have made me stop smoking, but she can't keep me away from Tifa's specialty," he said, and then he turned to Vincent. "Hey," he asked, "What's eatin' ya, Vince?"

Vincent said, "I think that Asha might be my daughter." There was silence all around the table.

Suddenly Cait Sith jumped up from underneath the table and said, "How do you know that?"

Vincent nodded towards the door with his head and said, "Jay thinks so. Look at her." She had appeared at the doorway with Jay holding her hand. He seemed to be struggling, but she pulled him over to the booth that everyone was in.

She said, "Umm, Cloud?" He nodded, looking slightly concerned as he thought about what she might say. "Jay needs to talk to you about earlier today."

Cloud tried his hardest to think up an excuse not to go to talk to Jay, but he couldn't think of anything. He sighed in defeat and said, "Fine, I'll talk to him." He moved out of the booth, knocking Cid and Tifa onto the floor and spilling Cid's drinks all over the two of them. Tifa stood up to get a mop as Cloud and Jay went upstairs to talk privately.

Cloud stood across from Jay, his right hand gripping his left arm tightly. It was silent, and then Jay said, "Listen, I'm sorry. I didn't intentionally do that. I just wanted to tell you that I'm sorry." He turned to leave, but Cloud stopped him.

Cloud said quietly, "You seem to know more than you are letting on."

Jay smirked and said, "It's that obvious?"

"Jayden, be serious," Cloud said. "I want to talk to you privately, about the remnants, and the Cetra. So, for the time being, let's consider ourselves friends. Do you know how to ride a motorcycle?"

Jay nodded, and Cloud said, "Good. Tifa?" Tifa appeared at the top of the stairs and Cloud asked, "Can you get Fenrir and Blackheart ready?" She nodded and hurried to the garage.

Blackheart was the old Midgar motorcycle from the misadventures of AVALANCHE, three years ago. Cloud had fixed it up for Strife Delivery Service, in case Fenrir ever broke down. He had named it Blackheart for an odd reason. Every day, Barret would bring Marlene from their small apartment over to the Seventh Heaven, and he would stay for hours, just watching Cloud fix up the bike in the garage. When Cloud named it Blackheart, Barret said, "Why the hell d'ya name it Blackheart?"

Cloud was about to explain that he had chosen the name from a story that he had told Marlene and Denzel, about a terrorist named Blackheart who saved the planet, but Tifa came in and said with a slight giggle, "It's a catchier name that Wallace."

Cloud turned to Jay and said with a smirk, "I hope you can keep up."

It was a quick ride. Jay was riding on the Midgar bike, and he was laughing loudly. Cloud was smiling slightly. He turned around and shouted to Jay, "I'm glad you're having fun!" Cloud was careful not to make eye contact with Jay, so he looked at Jay's mouth, which was grinning wildly. He decided to be kind to Jay, because he could be of use.

Jay smiled and hollered, "I'm king of the world!" He suddenly let go of the controls and held his hands out. He put his feet on the seat and stood, the bike still moving. Then the bike hit a rock in the road, and Jay was sent flying forward. He flew about 20 feet, and then rolled an extra ten feet. He stopped when he hit a concrete wall. Cloud darted forward on Fenrir and jumped off. He ran over to Jay and helped him up.

"Are you alright?" Cloud asked with concern.

Jay groaned and tried to stretch his arms, but his right arm didn't move. He winced and grimaced. Cloud reached into his belt for a potion, but there weren't any. Ever since he had defeated Sephiroth for the third time, there had been no need for potions. Cloud ripped Jay's sleeve off and studied the mangled and bloody arm.

Cloud said quietly, "I'm sorry. When we go into the church, you can use the water to heal the bone and clean off the blood, but your right arm is probably going to be paralyzed for the rest of your life. Restore Materia might have helped you, but we haven't seen any of that since…" Cloud trailed off, and looked down.

Jay had a bloody nose, and his speech was thick. "Sidce what?" he slurred.

Cloud looked up, shook his head, and began to walk into the church. Jay followed him and Cloud muttered, "The Materia disappeared a while back, right after **she **died."

Jay didn't understand. "She?" he asked, "What do you bead by she?"

Cloud shrugged and said, "It's nothing. We'd better fix you up before someone thinks that I hurt you." He walked over to the large spring and instructed, "Do as I do."

Jay suddenly saw his younger "brother" Kadaj in his mind, but he shrugged the thought off and followed Cloud's instructions. The spring was deep, so Cloud dived in and came up after about twenty seconds underwater. Jay held up his left arm and performed a successful one-handed dive and stayed under the water for about thirty seconds.

When he came up, Cloud studied him carefully. His arm wasn't useful anymore, but at least it didn't cause him pain. Cloud covered his face with his hand and said, "Thank the Cetra, I'm so glad."

Jay's nose was still swollen, so he had an odd accent when he asked, "What do you bead by that?"

Cloud said, "That water would have made any remnant disintegrate. I was afraid that that would happen to you."

Jay protested, "But I'b dot a real rebdadt. I just have Sephiroth's blood id be. I was a real persod before ted years ago."

Cloud said, "I know that. I'm sorry. Follow me."

Cloud walked up to the old altar and kneeled down, his hands folded in prayer. It was odd, considering the fact that Cloud didn't seem the type of person to pray. But, Jay thought, Barret praying would be much moreso.

Jay followed him and kneeled down. It was silent for a few moments, and Jay asked, "Who are you prayidg to? Add for what?"

Suddenly a quick wave of euphoria rushed over him, and he could breathe through his nose again. He tried to wiggle his arm, and it worked slightly, but it wasn't useful for sword fighting.

Cloud whispered, "To **her**."

Jay was clueless, and then he heard a quiet whisper in his head, _I'm glad that you are feeling better, Jayden_.

Jay asked quietly, "Mother?"

The voice whispered again, _I'm not your mother. At least I don't think so. I'm Aerith._

"Aerith? Was that her name?" the words came out of Jay's mouth.

Cloud didn't look up, and he asked, "How did you know that?"

Jay said, "I don't know. It just came to me."

Cloud looked up and grabbed Jay by the shoulders. He looked Jay straight in the eyes, which didn't hurt him, and asked, "Did **she **talk to you?" When Jay didn't answer, Cloud shook him and asked, "DID AERITH TALK TO YOU?"

Jay whispered, "Yes."

Cloud let go and said, "I suppose that the Cetra and the remnants have something in common."

Jay protested, "But, Aerith was only a half-Cetra, and I wasn't even a remnant."

Cloud had gone back to praying, and he breathed, "Yes. It's true. But perhaps she likes you more. The last time she talked to me was when she asked me to find the last of her kind. But it's been hard. The only Cetra left, yes, there is one left, is a quarter-blood. I've been searching for a year, but I haven't found her yet." He turned to Jay and asked, "Do you have any idea who it might be?"

Jay whispered, "Asha."

Cloud said, "Oh, her. You believe that she is a Cetra."

Jay said, "My brother told me."

Cloud got up and said, "Let's go back. Tifa will be waiting."

At the same time, Vincent, Yuffie, and Asha entered the hospital. A young, ditzy nurse met them in the hallway. She asked, "Vinnent Valentime? For a pregnancy test?"

Yuffie giggled, and Vincent corrected her by saying, "My name is **Vincent** **Valentine**, and I'm here for a **paternity **test."

The nurse seemed unfazed, and asked, "Who is the supposed child?"

Asha stepped forward and asked Vincent, "A paternity test? Why?"

Vincent whispered in her ear, "I loved a woman named Lucrecia, and the dates are appropriate. I just want to know. Please."

Asha nodded and turned to the nurse. "I am," she said quickly. "My name is Asharya Crescent." She turned to Vincent and said, "Lucrecia Crescent?" He nodded.

The nurse said, "Both of you, come in here." Yuffie sat down and picked up a magazine as Vincent and Asha followed the nurse into a white room.

Twenty minutes later, Vincent and Asha came out. Yuffie jumped up and asked, "So?"

Vincent looked at Asha and said quietly, "I have a daughter."

Asha said her new name over and over again, as if to get used to it. "Asharya Valentine," she said. "Asha Valentine. I like the sound of that." She gave her father a quick hug, and the nurse rushed out again.

"Vincent Valentine?" she asked. "I need you to come in here. There's something about your daughter that you need to know."

In the room, the nurse said, "It's about your daughter. There's a problem that could put her in great danger. You'd better get her a nice boyfriend and get her out of Edge, now!"

Vincent saw the sincerity in her eyes and, immediately concerned, asked, "What's wrong?"

The nurse looked down and said, "She's one quarter Cetra. I'd get her out of Edge ASAP. Shinra and the remnants will be looking for her, I can assure you."

Vincent said, "I don't believe you."

The nurse put her hands on her hips and said, "Fine. But when the attacks, murders, and abductions start, don't come crying to me!"

Vincent couldn't believe this sick joke. He became very angry at the nurse. Suddenly, he felt himself beginning to transform. He grabbed at his chest as if he was trying to rip something out, and the nurse became frightened. He fell to his hands and knees and unleashed huge screams of agony. It was a slow tingle of pain on his hand at first, slowly spreading up his arm until he fully became Chaos. The nurse shrieked and cowered in the corner. Vincent stared at her coldly and growled, "Don't get me any angrier. Tell me the truth."

The nurse screamed, "But I **am** telling the truth!"

Vincent cursed at the top of his lungs and his wings made contact with the side of her face. She crumpled to the ground, and Vincent leaned over, and with his hand, felt for a heartbeat, looking for something that wasn't there. He realized that she was dead, and he fell onto the hospital bed. His wings ripped the leather up, and within a few minutes, he was back to his normal self. He was gasping heavily, and he whispered in a shocked voice, "What have I done?"

He picked up the nurse's body and kicked open the window. He grabbed the top of the windowsill and swung himself up onto the roof. He traced the gash on her face with his finger, hoping to make her stir. He suddenly heard a door slamming, and he saw Asha running to the motorcycle and driving shakily away. He turned around to stop her, and he found himself face-to-face with Yuffie. She smiled and saw the cadaver, and it changed from a look of joy to a look of sheer horror.

"Vincent!" she said quietly. "What happened? Was it Chaos?"

Vincent nodded sadly and said, "What's wrong with Asha?"

She informed him that she had heard him kill the nurse and she had run away. Vincent said, "I need to get rid of the body." He grabbed Yuffie around the waist and got off of the roof and ran as fast as he could to the Forgotten City.

Yuffie wrenched herself out of Vincent's grasp and began to run along side of him. "Why are you doing this?" she asked, screaming at the top of her lungs.

Vincent said, "I need to leave. Chaos has ruined my life too many times. I'm not going to let it happen again."

Yuffie grabbed his cloak and stopped abruptly. "Shut up!" she said, and smacked him sharply across the face. "You're always so depressing! You can control Chaos! You've been doing it for thirty three years, for God's sakes! It's not like you're going to kill her!"

Vincent began to run again, and part of his ragged cloak ripped off in Yuffie's hand. He shouted over the wind, "For thirty of those years, I was asleep in a damn coffin. When I'm awake, Chaos has control over me. It happened once. Why not again?"

Yuffie didn't say anything, she just turned to follow Asha. "Vincent!" he heard her shout over the wind, "Lucrecia and Asha believe in you? Why don't you believe in yourself?"

At the mention of Asha and her mother, Vincent stopped in his tracks, backpedaling slightly, but quickly came to his senses and continued running, and didn't stop until he reached the Forgotten City.


	3. Returns and Escapes

Vincent finally reached the Forgotten City and he hurried to one of the lakes. He quickly pushed the nurse off into the water, and watched her float on the top of the lake before she sank down. Vincent whispered, "Aerith, take care of her," and turned around.

Standing in front of him was Aerith. Or, at least, the spirit of Aerith. But, she looked so real. Her long, chestnut hair fell to her waist. It was long and wavy, but it had a slightly stringy appearance. She had not outgrown her pink dress and red jacket at all, but the clung to her as if they were wet. Suddenly, Vincent noticed a tear in her dress near her stomach. It was about two inches tall, and it was only a fraction of an inch wide. She noticed where he was staring and shook her head.

She came forward until she was feet away from him. A black haired man with bright green eyes materialized next to her and put his hand on her shoulder. He wore the same uniform that Cloud had worn three years ago. The only difference was that there were bullet holes in it. There were tiny holes in the man's shoulder, near his heart.

Aerith smiled and said, "Vincent. It's wonderful to see you." She walked forward, the silver soil not shrinking below her non-existent feet. She wrapped her transparent arms around him, and he almost smiled as he felt a cold wind indicating where her arms rested. She backed away and commented, "So you have a daughter. Maybe that's a good thing. It might help you to open up to people."

Vincent looked down, and Aerith said sadly, "I guess people never change."

Barely audible, Vincent muttered, "Asha's an Ancient."

The black haired man turned to Aerith and asked, "Weren't you the last remaining Ancient?"

Aerith looked out at the water and said quietly, "I guess not." Her bright green eyes seemed to become dull as she studied the body, just visible from the surface, the blood on Vincent's hand and gauntlet, and the forlorn look on his face. A tear formed in the corner of her eye and slowly made its descent down the side of her face, leaving a silvery trail of water to mark where it had been. She backed away from Vincent, and the black haired man grabbed her around the waist to keep her from falling. She could only whisper one word.

"Chaos?" Vincent nodded, and Aerith asked, "Can you control it? Around your daughter, at least?"

Vincent turned away and said, "It seems as if she's the cause of it. Whenever she is concerned, something is said that causes me enough anger for Chaos to overtake me."

Aerith said nothing, so Vincent continued. "The protomateria inside of me has no effect anymore. I don't know why."

The black haired man suggested, "Perhaps that is the effect of mako poisoning. Sephiroth once told me about mako poisoning, and he said that the effects are different on each user of the Materia."

When he heard the name "Sephiroth", Vincent cringed, and suddenly turned around, lashing out at the man with his gauntlet and gasping when it harmlessly passed through him.

The black-haired man circled Vincent and said more to himself than to Vincent, "So you knew Sephiroth? Hmm, you seem familiar." He suddenly realized who Vincent was and he said, "You're Vincent Valentine, the Turk that tried to stop the Jenova Project! I remember seeing you in the coffin in the bottom of Shinra Manor. It must've been at least eight years ago." He tried to shake Vincent's hand, but his hand passed right through. He nodded in greeting and goodbye and said, "Well, it was nice to have met you."

He backed away and disappeared. Aerith turned back to Vincent and said, "I'll take care of that nurse, as long as you take care of your daughter. Promise me that."

Vincent nodded and whispered, "I promise." Aerith smiled and turned to walk away, but he stopped her to ask, "By the way, who was that man?"

Aerith said with slight pride, "He's my boyfriend. An Ex-SOLDIER, First Class. His name is Zack. He was Cloud's best friend."

At the mention of Cloud, Vincent asked, "Have you talked to him recently?"

Aerith sighed and said, "I knew that he loved me when he came to talk to me, but recently, he stopped coming. Now, I have to come to him, but he's probably too busy. He's with Tifa." She looked genuinely sad for a minute, but brushed the tears away from her eyes and said, "But I'm with Zack now, and I guess the only way for Cloud and I to be together is for him to die, and Cloud's much to strong to die."

Vincent nodded, and Aerith turned around to leave. Suddenly she stopped and cast a small photograph to the ground. All she said was, "It's a wedding gift for Tifa and Cloud. Frame it and say that it's from Aerith and Zack." She giggled and walked away.

Vincent picked the picture up carefully and snickered when he saw what it was. It was a picture of Tifa in a blue minidress with a purple sash standing next to Cloud, who was wearing a braided wig. He was wearing lipstick and a blue dress with a red sash. They had their arms around each other like best friends, and they were blowing kisses at the camera. Vincent muttered to himself, "Cloud's going to love this," and began his trek to the Seventh Heaven.

Asha drove the motorcycle as quickly as she could, but it was very unreliable. It broke down within five minutes, so she jumped off the motorcycle and continued running. She started to get tired, but she continued to run. She wanted to get away from the monster that was her father.

Suddenly, she was almost run over by a motorcycle. She fell over as it sped past, and the second rider stopped to check if she was okay. "Asha, what are you doing here?" was the first thing she heard. She looked up to see Jay leaning over her.

"I need to leave," Asha whispered. "I'm an Ancient."

Jay helped her up and said quietly, "I know." He wrapped his arms around her and stroked her hair as she buried her face in his chest. He whispered, "It's all right, Asha. I'll take you somewhere where you'll be safe. Do you want Vincent to help you as well?"

She sobbed, "He's a monster! I'm ashamed to know that he's my father." Jay didn't seem surprised; he just handed her a tranquilizer. She asked between gasps, "What am I supposed to do with this?"

He pinched her nose and tipped the bottle so its contents poured into her mouth. Sure enough, her breathing slowed, and her eyes became heavy. She smiled and said drowsily, "Thank you."

He said, "Don't mention it." Asha sighed with content and put her arm around his shoulder. He picked her up, wedding style, and placed her on the motorcycle. He got on behind her and positioned his arms to make sure she didn't fall off. She put her head on his shoulder and fell asleep.

Jay started up Blackheart and began to drive slowly just as Yuffie came up. She grabbed on the back of the motorcycle and Jay sped up, so she jumped onto the motorcycle in a catlike manner. "Jay," she said quickly, "What's going on?" Asha murmured incoherently in her sleep, and Yuffie screamed, "What the hell are you doing with Asha?"

Jay turned around to stare at her and say, "She'll be safer away from all of this." He sped up Blackheart, causing Yuffie to lose her grip and perform a backflip to keep herself from hitting the ground at full force.

Yuffie got up in time to see Jay race off with Asha. She cursed under her breath and kicked up a cloud of dust. She muttered, "I'm gonna kill that traitor," and hurried to find Vincent.


	4. Remembered and Relived

When Asha woke up, Jay was starting a fire. She realized that they were in the Forgotten City, obviously in some hidden area. She said drowsily, "Good morning!"

Jay looked up and said with a snicker, "That tranquilizer was probably too strong for you." He came over and asked, "Are you alright?"

She giggled and said, "I'm fine. Do you need any help with anything?"

He shrugged and said, "No. It's fine. Why don't you rest a little bit? You're still a little loopy from the tranquilizer."

She stifled a laugh and said, "Loopy. That's a funny word."

He asked, "Do you remember what happened yesterday?"

She suddenly turned serious and said, "Yesterday morning, I was Asharya Crescent. Today, I'm Asharya Valentine, much to my dismay." She came over and began to warm herself by the fire. Jay took his cloak off and draped it over her shoulders with his left arm. He placed his left hand on her shoulder, while his right hand dangled uselessly at his side.

"Vincent's a good man," he said conversationally. "Sure, he may not trust me, but he's a good man."

Asha buried her face in his shoulder and said, "He's a monster. I saw him kill a nurse. He turned into this monster and killed her. Then, he took her body and put it in one of the springs here."

Jay shook his head in disbelief. "He would never do that," Jay said. "At least, I don't think that he would."

Asha sobbed, "He can, and he did!" She wrapped her arms around Jay's waist and said, "He's going to come looking for me! I'm going to die! He's going to kill me!"

Jay took her chin and tilted it upwards, so her face was level with his. He stroked her cheek with his thumb and whispered, "I'm not going to let anything happen to you. I promise." She lowered her head and asked how he was so sure. He smiled and said, "Because I love you." She looked up in surprise, and he leaned forward and kissed her.

Asha seemed surprised at first, but then she relaxed and the kiss deepened. They were interrupted when someone said, "Aww. How beautiful, and at the same time, sickening. I'm sorry I have to break up the moment."

They looked up, and Jay put his arms around Asha the minute he saw the remnant. They jumped up, and Jay said, "If you're taking me, then leave Asha here."

The remnant grinned mischievously, his silver hair swinging as he shook his head. "I would do that," he said, "IF you were the one that we wanted."

Asha looked at him and said, "So, you mean that I'M the one that you want?" He nodded.

Jay pushed her back and pulled out his sword, which had been fashioned like a nunchaku. The remnant smiled and said, "I've always loved a good fight." He pulled out his gun and said, "And I like a good fall even better." He charged for Asha and his hand surged forward to grab her wrist. Jay swung his sword and it slashed through the remnant's sleeve.

The remnant jumped backward, and reddish-black blood dripped from his arm, staining the silver soil beneath him. Jay turned around and ordered, "Asha, hide!" Eyes wide with fear, Asha grabbed a tree branch above her with one hand and flipped herself onto it.

The remnant began shooting rapidly at Jay. In a flurry of speed and sound, Jay parried all of the bullets, sending them into trees around him. The remnant scowled and shot one bullet at the tree branch hanging between him and Jay. Once the bullet was firmly lodged in the branch, the remnant jumped and swung toward Jay, kicking him in the face and causing his jaw to bleed.

The remnant snickered and dropped from the branch. Jay swung his sword around and jabbed the remnant through the shoulder. The remnant was trying to preserve his bullets, so he hit Jay upside the head with his gun. Jay staggered backwards, but got up quickly and attacked again, this time making a gash on the remnants face from his temple to his collarbone.

The remnant grunted and punched Jay in the stomach. As Jay keeled over, the remnant was hit in the back of the head by...something. Jay looked up to see Asha squatting on a tree branch above him. The remnant looked up and smiled wickedly. He raised his gun and fired once. Jay screamed hoarsely as the bullet hit her in the neck, and she fell from the tree, landing on the ground limply.

The remnant gasped, "My brothers will be proud of me." He picked up Asha with some difficulty and said to Jay, "Brother, come with me. You will be with the Ancient. That's what you want, isn't it?"

Jay didn't look up as he said desperately, "Yes, but..." He looked up and, with hate filling his eyes, said, "But I don't want to end up like YOU! Living a life for one purpose, becoming a slave to your brother and mother, taking people away from others..." He choked and began to sob. He whispered, "No, Asha."

The remnant looked at Jay with sarcastic innocence and said, "But, Brother, you may have the Ancient back; you just may not like the state she's in when we return her to you."

Jay stared at the remnant, who returned the gaze with a snicker. Jay growled and charged forward, swinging his nunchaku over his head. The remnant jumped backward with a sudden burst of adrenaline and Jay fell forward. Jay looked up to see the remnant's eyes glowing green light. His eyes filled completely with light, and white vapor began to rise from his body.

Jay stood up and listened to the words being recited by the remnant. It was being recited in an odd language, but due to training from Shinra, Jay could understand it. The remnant's voice was resonating and echoing as if different people were saying it.

"By the power of Mako, with the power of the Ancients coursing through our bodies, the remnants will rise again, and Sephiroth and Mother will be at the center of this reincarnation!"

At that, the area around Jay, Asha, and the remnant exploded in white fire and they disappeared.

Back at the Seventh Heaven, Vincent arrived and Tifa asked, "So how did the test go?"

Vincent said, "Asha's my daughter. Mine and Lucrecia's."

Cloud smiled slightly and asked, "You gonna celebrate when she gets back?"

Vincent looked at Cloud enquiringly and said, "I thought she already came back. She left on the motorcycle headed for here. Is Jayden here? He might know where Asha is."

Tifa said quietly, "Jay never came back, either. He was following Cloud when he stopped halfway down the road."

Vincent began scratching his forearm with his gauntlet and Nanaki said, "Don't worry, Vincent. Asha and Jay are very responsible. They will probably be bursting through this door at any minute."

Suddenly, Yuffie burst through the doors, breathless. She put one hand to her head and the other to her chest and keeled over. With lighting reflexes unfitting to a man of his age, Cid jumped forward and caught her before she fell to the wooden floor.

She panted, "Jay...Asha...gone...motorcycle...Asha...drugged...kidnapped!" Suddenly, she passed out. Barret handed Cid a cup of cold water, who poured some onto his hands and gently slapped Yuffie's cheeks until she woke up.

She gasped, and Cid asked, "Brat, what were you saying?"

She breathed deeply, and said between breaths, "Jay drugged Asha and pulled her onto his motorcycle. He said that he needed to take her away from all of this. I tried to stop him, but he headed for the Forgotten City with Asha."

Vincent gulped down three hard drinks and walked out the door. Barret asked, "What the hell d'you think you're doing? Whatever it is, why are you getting drunk for it?"

Vincent turned around and said coldly, "There's no way I would've done this if I was sober." He turned back and jumped on Fenrir. He drove away, headed toward Nibelheim.

Cloud turned to Tifa and said, "Great. One of my best friends is driving around drunk, and now I don't even have a bike!"

Vincent had reached the Shinra Manor and kicked down the door. He rushed down into the basement and went into the room where the coffin was. The coffin, his coffin, a sign of defeat. But, he couldn't continue. He opened the lid and got in. He thought, _God, how did I ever even fit in this_? He pulled the lid back on and put himself in a semi-comfortable position and closed his eyes.

He fell asleep fairly quickly, but he had trouble staying asleep. He was about to get out of the coffin when the top slid open a fraction of an inch and a ghostly hand reached into the coffin and touched his pale cheek. He heard a woman whisper, "May the moments you cherish repeat, and the moments you detest be relived." That was all that he heard before he fell asleep permanently.

_Vincent opened his eyes to see Lucrecia standing over him. His blue Turks uniform itched horribly, and his long bangs fell in his eyes, but Lucrecia made up for all of that. Vincent sat up and Lucrecia crouched so she was level with him. She smiled sadly, and Vincent asked, "Lucrecia, what's wrong?"_

_Lucrecia began to cry and Vincent wrapped his arms around her. She pushed him away and said, "Your father is dead, because of me." Lucrecia explained what had happened, and she laid down flat on the ground and began to cry._

_Vincent said quietly, "I would never blame you for my father's death. Things like this happen."_

_Lucrecia looked up and said, "But, I would never forgive myself. I'm sorry, but we can't stay together." She got up and ran away sobbing._

_Vincent sat on a tree branch. Being 26, he was much too old to be climbing trees, but he didn't care. Lucrecia walked up the hill and looked up at him._

_"Mind if I climb up?" she asked quickly. Vincent shook his head and extended his hand for her. She climbed up and sat beside him. She said conversationally, "I'm leaving Shinra Headquarters."_

_Vincent looked at her and asked, "Why?"_

_She shrugged and said, "Professor Hojo and I are going to study some things. I'm probably not going to come back for a while." She handed him a necklace and said, "When I need you, the necklace will glow. I'll be in Shinra Manor; you know, in Nibelheim." She dropped from the tree and walked away._

_Six months later, the necklace began to glow. Vincent requested a helicopter and flew to Nibelheim as quickly as he could. As he neared the gate to Shinra Manor, Lucrecia emerged, teary eyed._

_Lucrecia ran forward and Vincent embraced her. She backed away, looking tiny and timid in her white lab coat. She whispered, "Vincent."_

_Vincent tried to embrace her again, but she moved away slowly. He said, "Don't worry, Lucrecia. I'm here. What do you need?"_

_She smiled sadly, her lips quivering, and her lab coat hiding her trembling body. She said between sobs, "Vincent, I'm... I'm..." She began a new round of tears and ran into Vincent's open arms._

_Suddenly, he felt a weak jolt, not a jolt really, just a pulse. Lucrecia didn't have to say it, Vincent already knew. He backed away, and asked, "Hojo?"_

_She collapsed on the ground and began sobbing hysterically. Vincent helped her up and asked more gently, "How much longer?"_

_She said, "Four months." She looked down and whispered, "I'm sorry, Vincent."_

_Hojo emerged from the manor and said conversationally, "Ah, a friend of yours, Lucrecia? Perhaps he would like to stay at our humble abode." Lucrecia nodded, and Hojo took her arm a little too firmly. He asked, "Have you told him of our plans for the baby?"_

_Lucrecia shook her head and turned to Vincent. She asked, "Vincent, do you remember Jenova? The Ancient?" Vincent nodded and she said, "I'm going to be injected with Jenova cells in my sixth month, to see the effect that it will have on the baby."_

_He asked, "Lucreci...Dr. Crescent. Is this the best thing for you, or the baby?"_

_Hojo said, "It is not your place to question things like this, Turk. Be thankful that you get to be with your friend." He turned and walked away, still holding Lucrecia by the arm. Vincent quickly loaded his gun and followed them inside._

_Four months later, Hojo had left on a scientific assignment. Lucrecia hardly ever left her room. Vincent occasionally went up to see her, but it was awkward, talking to the woman he loved, who was carrying someone else's baby._

_Vincent was flipping through a book in the library when he heard a whimper and a thud. He hurried up the stairs to find Lucrecia on the ground in a puddle of water. Her hands were on her stomach and she was breathing heavily. She whispered, "Vincent, help me."_

_Vincent hurriedly called the Nibelheim doctor. He carried Lucrecia to the bed on the second floor and laid her down on it. When the doctor arrived, he got his things out and began to help Lucrecia. Vincent stood in the corner, watching Lucrecia's beautiful face contort in pain. She dug her fingernails into her palm, and Vincent went over and sat on the side of the bed._

_Lucrecia grabbed Vincent's hand and began squeezing it. He didn't really know what to do, so he just sat there. It didn't really hurt his hand,but it hurt that Lucrecia was in so much pain. Vincent whispered, "It's going to be okay," and within minutes, Lucrecia gave birth to a healthy baby boy._

_As Hojo entered the room, he said, "Ah, a baby boy. He will be named Sephiroth." To the doctor he said, "Give me the baby."_

_The doctor stammered, "Um, the mother gets the first honors, and then the father, and then the other relatives."_

_Hojo hit the doctor with the back of his hand, drawing blood where his ring scraped the doctor's face, and said, "I am the father!" He took the swaddled baby out of the doctor's hands and began to leave._

_Vincent stood up and said, "You aren't going to even let Lucrecia hold Sephiroth?"_

_Hojo snickered and said, "It's not your place to question your elders, Turk." He exited the room, and Vincent turned back to Lucrecia._

_He sat down, and Lucrecia asked, "Can I hold my son?" When Vincent said no, she put her head on his shoulder and began to cry quietly. She whispered, "I can't even hold my own son." Vincent's suit was now stained with Lucrecia's sweat and tears, but he didn't care._

_He held Lucrecia and whispered, "It's going to be alright."_

_When Lucrecia fell asleep, Vincent went into the connected room and watched from the window as Hojo handed baby Sephiroth to some Shinra SOLDIERs and they flew away in a helicopter. Vincent reached for his gun when Hojo entered the room. It wasn't there._

_It was in Hojo's hand._

_Vincent said, "You know, you could've at least let Lucrecia hold her son for a minute."_

_Hojo pointed the gun at Vincent's face and said, "I've said it before and I'll say it again, 'It's not your place, Turk.'"_

_Lucrecia woke up, propped herself up in the bed so Vincent could see her and said, "Vincent, please. It's fine, really!"_

_Vincent said to Hojo with a smirk, "A fine father you are. I don't really see what Lucrecia saw in you."_

_Hojo said, "I'm warning you, Turk. Don't immerse yourself in dangerous business that it's not your place to immerse in!"_

_A fact dawned on him, and Vincent said, "Lucrecia didn't see anything in you. You raped her, didn't you?!"_

_Hojo said, "That's it!" and lowered the gun. He fired, and it hit Vincent in the stomach._

_Lucrecia screamed hoarsely, and Hojo laughed manically as Vincent fell to the ground. Hojo said with a snicker, "I warned you, Turk."_

_Vincent clawed his way over to Lucrecia's bed and whispered, "I'm sorry, Lucrecia." She put her hand on his cheek, her eyes filling up with tears. A single tear fell from his eye onto her hand as he dropped to the floor, taking his last breath._

_Lucrecia screamed, "Vincent!" Her voice began to get quieter, and at the same time, clearer._

_"Vincent, _Vincent, Vincent, **Vincent**, **Vincent**! Wake up!"


	5. To Be Befriended, To Be Betrayed

Vincent woke up to find the whole gang peering over him. He whispered, "How long has it been?"

Yuffie, who looked much older, said, "It's been a WHOLE ENTIRE year!"

Cloud said, "We've located Asha and Jayden. They're being held hostage in the Forgotten City. Perhaps Jay was leading her to them."

Tifa said, "They haven't started the ritual yet. Asha and Jay have been put in artificial comas, so there may be some time to save them.

Suddenly, they heard a voice in the doorway that said, "That's where I come in." Vincent sat up and saw Reno leaning in the doorway. His suit wasn't closed and his shirt wasn't tucked in, and his pilot's glasses held his spiky red hair out of his bright green eyes. He walked forward and said, "Ya know, Vince, you should've told Tseng or Rufus or Rude or Elena or me or SOMEONE about your daughter being an Ancient. We might've been able to stop all of this from ever happening."

Vincent pulled himself out of the coffin and said, "I don't think that Shinra would've helped in this situation."

Reno seemed unfazed, and he walked over to Vincent. He said casually, "I'm going to locate them on the chopper radar and fly you there. Rude, Tseng, and Elena are going to be there with me, so we'll be flying overhead if you need backup." He held out his hand and waited for Vincent to shake it.

Vincent stared at Reno's hand and said, "You're not going to take Asha to Shinra. He's not going to get his hands on Asha."

Reno pulled his hand away and said, "The thought never crossed my mind."

Yuffie pulled out her shuriken and swung it around, almost knocking Reno over. "Can we get on with it? We need to save Asha and Jay!"

Cid said, "Shut up, Brat. We're gonna load into the _Shera_ while Reno gets the chopper. I hope you have enough airsickness bags."

Had it already been a year? Jay opened his eyes and looked at Asha, who was lying to his right. She had a white bandage tied around her neck, and a blood red one tied around her forehead. Her long hair was unbraided and tangled. Her skin was paler than usual.

Jay felt his jawbone and his head. They were bruised, but they weren't life threatening. He remembered; an artificial coma would suspend you in time, meaning, during the coma, poisons would take effect slowly, injuries wouldn't heal as quickly, and people wouldn't seem to age, but after the person woke up, the body would speed it's aging to make up for the lost time. Suddenly, he heard a quiet whisper. "Jay?"

Jay turned to see Asha, and he crawled over and kissed her. She said hoarsely, "We have to get out of here. They're going to kill both of us!" She strained her memory to remember the names of the remnants. "Loz, Yazoo, and Kadaj are going to recreate Sephiroth."

He repeated the names. "But they're dead!" he protested.

Asha said, "I don't know how, but they're alive. We need to get away."

"How?" he asked quietly. Asha explained that there was an opening in one of the stone hollows in the walls. They just needed to look for it. "But won't the remnants know that we're moving around?"

"No," Asha said simply. "They put a tracker somewhere in each of us. I was awake for that. They put mine in my hair, and they put yours in your forearm. Give me your sword."

Jay didn't hesitate as he handed Asha the sword. She held her hair taut, and he could see a shimmery blue strand that he assumed was the tracker. She made a quick slash, and almost all of her hair was in a heap on the floor. Her black hair was now to her shoulders. She handed the sword back to Jay and wrapped herself up in his overcoat, which she still had.

Jay closed his eyes and tried to think about something else as he quickly slit his forearm. Asha reached over and pulled out the blue strand, which had risen to the surface of the cut. She took the bandage off her forehead, revealing a scar that snaked across her forehead like a halo, and carefully wrapped up Jay's wound. She said, "Now we can move around, and it will still look like we are asleep." Asha got up, and after a few stumbles, began to search around, tapping the center of the hollows with her knuckles. Jay followed suit until a hollow slid open. He climbed in and helped Asha in.

They crawled as quickly as they could, taking simple routes until they reached the outside. They climbed up into a tree and, hidden by silver leaves, watched the remnants for a minute.

Yazoo was leaning against a tree, the right side of his face covered in a cross-hatch of scars and his eye covered with a long patch of hair. His leg was visibly crippled. He only talked every so often, and that seemed to cause him pain.

Loz stood by a rock face, his hand keeping him from falling over. His left arm, from the shoulder to his fingertips, was completely robotic, as was his right foot from his knee to his toes. He had a robotic voice box on his neck, and it gave his voice a hoarse, grunting air.

Kadaj was, by far, the worst. He was in a wheelchair, and both of his legs were missing, one at the knee, one at the shin. He couldn't talk at all, and he couldn't move his arms. He would move his fingers around to communicate, but it didn't work very well.

Jay whispered, "What a SAD bunch of remnants! Am I going to end up like them?" but Asha stopped him.

She said, "They're talking about using our blood to recreate Sephiroth. Take the dead body of a remnant, and spill our mixed blood into it, creating a more powerful Sephiroth than ever before."

Jay said snappily, "Well, I'm sure that you'll be glad to see him, considering he's your half brother."

Asha turned to face him, and said, "He's not even my brother. Sure, Mother carried him, but Jenova was his real mother." She checked to make sure that none of the remnants were looking, and she dropped from the tree. She looked up and asked, "Are you coming?"

He said, "I'm going to watch them for a few more minutes, okay?" Asha nodded and ran away.

It was a quiet ride to the Forgotten City. Yuffie continued to challenge Reeve to games of cards, and with Cait Sith on his side, Reeve usually won. Tifa sat with Marlene on her lap. Marlene and Denzel, with the help of Cid, had stowed away on the _Shera_. Cloud sat polishing his sword and showing Denzel how to help. Barret was trying to have a conversation with Nanaki, who was trying to sleep. Vincent stood, watching the passing scenery below him, until Cid put the _Shera_ on autopilot and walked over to Vincent.

Vincent turned to Cid and asked, "What do you want?"

Cid scratched his stubble and said, "Aw, shit, I suck at being all sentimental-like. Well, here goes nothin'. We're gonna find your daughter. I know that. We have an Ex-Shinra pilot, an Ex-SOLDIER, the leader of the WRO, the leader of Avalanche, a member of Avalanche, a Wutaian ninja, a spy, a beast, and five Turks."

Vincent smirked and said, "What a crew." Cid smiled and walked away, leaving Vincent all alone.

Suddenly he heard, "You know, Cid left a few people out: an Ancient, and another SOLDIER." He turned around to see Aerith and Zack. He gasped, and everyone turned.

Cloud walked over to Aerith and tried to touch her cheek, but his hand passed through. Tifa looked away, and Aerith smiled sadly. She whispered in his ear, "You belong with Tifa, Marlene, and Denzel."

Zack smiled at Cloud and said, "And Aerith belongs with me!" He clapped a transparent hand on Cloud's shoulder, and then he and Aerith disappeared.

They all stood, mystified, and they suddenly heard, "We'll be with you!"

Asha ran as quickly as she could through the trees. When she finally stopped, she found herself in front of a stalagmite of mako crystals. The blue glow of the crystals made her skin deathly pale. She looked up, panting, and saw a woman imprisoned in the crystals. She looked oddly familiar.

Asha touched her face and whispered, "Mother?"

She heard her name echoed across the trees. "Asha, Asha, Asha. How long has it been? Twenty years?"

Asha nodded, and Lucrecia Crescent said, "You're such a beautiful young woman, now. I'm so sorry that I couldn't have been there for you. But, when I found out that I was pregnant with you, I left. I couldn't tell Vincent. He wasn't the type of person who cared about children. So I left, I had you, and I gave you to a village woman. I came back here, and I trapped myself in the mako crystals."

Asha sat there for a whole day, talking to her mother. It was amazing, but Asha needed to get to the point.

Asha said quietly, "Vincent found me. He knows I'm his daughter."

Lucrecia said, "I figured. Vincent was too smart for me to keep a secret from him. But, I do know about Chaos. He's not a monster, but the protomateria has faded away, so he has more trouble controlling his emotions. He's a good man, trust me."

Asha pushed her short hair behind her ears and said, "The remnants are trying to recreate Sephiroth, using MY blood. I don't know what to do. Jay might know, but he's not here right now."

Lucrecia seemed to smile and asked, "Oh? And who might Jay be? A boyfriend?"

Asha blushed and said hesitantly, "More like...a bodyguard. He's a remnant, but he's one of the good ones. He always seems to know the right thing to do."

Lucrecia replied, "Ah, I see. Where might he be right now?"

Asha pushed her hair behind her ears again and said casually, "Oh, he's still watching the..." she smacked her forehead and said, "...remnants!" She began to pace, back and forth. "What am I supposed to do? I love Jay, but I love you even more. I haven't seen you in twenty years."

Lucrecia said, "Help your bodyguard. You'll be able to see me later, especially if you become a scientist. Make me proud."

Asha said quickly, "Thank you." She ran up and kissed the mako crystals and made sure she was out of her mother's view before she spit on the ground to get the acidic taste out of her mouth.

She began to run. Nothing else mattered, just making sure that Jay was safe; if he was, that would be enough. She gulped in lungfuls of cold air whenever she began to feel dizzy. After running for about ten minutes straight, she tripped over something.

She lay flat on the ground, staring to her side, until she heard the click of guns around her. She didn't dare move, until she heard Jay's voice. "Ancient, get up." Something in his voice didn't sound like him, it sounded more menacing. She did as she was told, and a remnant wrapped his arm around her neck. As she studied him, she noticed his eyes looked almost catlike. His silvery-black hair had turned completely silver.

She whispered, "Jay, did they capture you?"

Jay walked over to her and angled his head so she was face to face with him. He was about six inches taller than her, but the way he looked at her made her feel even shorter. He said, "Actually, Ancient. I came to them."

She tried to jerk forward, but two remnants grabbed her arms. She asked, "Why are you calling me Ancient? What happened to you?"

He turned away and said, "Do you want to know the full story, or a briefing? You have about 3 hours before we perform the ritual, so choose how you want to spend your last hours carefully."

Asha said bitterly, "Well, I don't have much time to listen to you talk shit, so make it quick." A remnant stuck a cloth in her mouth and tied it tightly so she couldn't talk.

Jay snickered and said, "Here's the short version. As I was watching my brothers, I realized that they were the people I was supposed to be with. I don't belong with Ancients or humans. I'm better than them. I belong with them. They are my brethren, and together, with YOUR help, we will bring Sephiroth back."

Asha wrenched herself out of the remnants' grasp and flung herself upon Jay, punching him and kicking him until he was gasping for breath. Suddenly, He pulled out his sword and slashed it outward, slashing her shoulder. She grabbed her shoulder and staggered backwards. A remnant grabbed her and put a gun against her head. The cold steel paralyzed her with fear.

Jay looked at her again and asked, "Do you want to know WHY we need your help, Ancient?" The way he spat the word "Ancient" made Asha sick. He answered himself with, "I'll tell you anyway. With the water, Loz, Yazoo, and Kadaj will unite and form a new person, strong as anyone. Then, we will use our blood to transform that person into Sephiroth."

Asha gasped, and Jay asked, "Why are you so scared. We will be joined, and isn't that what you wanted?" He squeezed her neck and whispered, "Sleep tight, Ancient," as she passed out.


	6. The Final Hours

Reno lazily circled the Forgotten City, waiting for Cloud and the others to show up. The _Shera_ was a piece of junk, and even a Shinra chopper could go faster than it. The Ancient, the daughter of Vincent Valentine and Lucrecia Crescent. Reno had known a girl with the last name Crescent. She had lived with his family. Could it have been her? No. She had disappeared nine years ago, shortly after Reno began training to become one of the Turks. She had been like a little sister like Reno. She had even dyed her hair red for a week so she could tell people that she was his sister. She'd looked stupid, but she was proud to look like Reno. Then he became a Turk, and he guessed she ran away.

Elena came up and put her hand on his shoulder. She said quietly, "You were thinking about something."

He shrugged and said, "What makes you think that?"

Tseng came over and straightened his tie as he said, "You've been flying in a straight line for the past five minutes."

Reno started and veered sharply to the left so as to keep above the forest below him. Tseng and Elena walked away, and Reno put the chopper on autopilot. He went back to thinking about the Crescent girl. What had her name been? It had started with an R, he thought. Reyna? Absolutely not. Rosa? He didn't think so. Rinoa? Where had he heard that before? Rhia? That was closer.

He was just in the middle of figuring out the Crescent girl's name when Rude came over. "They're here," he said quietly. "Get ready for dropping in at any minute."

When Asha woke up, she was propped up against a tree. Jay was standing in front of her. From behind him, she could see Kadaj, Loz, and Yazoo, and the thousands of remnants that surrounded the lake. Jay turned around and said, "So, Ancient. Are you ready?"

Asha tried to flex her jaw and realized that the cloth had been taken out of her mouth. She tried to get up and scramble away, but Jay kicked her in the stomach. She doubled over in pain, and he began to laugh. She looked up and gasped, "Why?"

He asked, "Don't you want to see your brother? That's why we're bringing him here. He's our brother as well."

Asha muttered, "I had a brother, but he wasn't anything like Sephiroth." He had left at least nine years ago. He had been fourteen, and she had been eleven. Then a woman brought her to the Shinra village. Her brother was probably dead.

Jay said, "Shut up, Ancient." He grabbed her roughly by the forearm and pulled her over to Kadaj and his brothers. He dropped her at their feet and said, "We'll begin immediately."

Yazoo murmured, "Good." He held up his arm and two remnants came to the sides of each of the three brothers. They helped the brothers into the water. The six remnants backed out of the water as everyone watched the changes. The water seeped into Kadaj and his brothers, giving them strength.

They walked slowly towards each other, wrapping their arms around each others' shoulders. They chanted together, "Water of the Cetra, give us the strength." The water began to ripple out from them. "Bring back those who are dead, and banish those who are alive." Black wings began to sprout on their backs. "Mother, help us bring back the one we need. The one who will help us. Sephiroth." The wings wrapped around them, engulfing them in demonic darkness. There was a quick flash of light, and then Kadaj and his brothers were gone.

In their place was a pale young man. His long white hair and black wing covered his naked body. His eyes were open as if they were frozen that way. He laid on top of the water. Jay walked in and picked up the man. He walked back and placed the body at his and Asha's feet.

At that moment, Vincent and the crew arrived. Yuffie ran forward with a quiet cry, but Cid put his hand on her shoulder. "Wait to see what they do," he whispered. Cloud grabbed his left arm with a groan and staggered backwards.

Tifa ran to Cloud's side and helped him up, and asked, "Cloud, what's wrong?"

Cloud grunted, "Sephiroth...is...here!"

Yuffie went over to Vincent and whispered something in his ear. "I don't think we'll survive," she said.

Vincent didn't look at her, he just said, "If you think that, you should try to tell everyone your feelings about them before the battle."

Yuffie said, "Fine," and jumped up. She wrapped her arms around Vincent's neck and kissed him on the lips. Vincent seemed startled, but he didn't say anything. Suddenly, Yuffie pushed herself away from him and gasped, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that." Her face turned beet red and she walked away.

Vincent stared at Asha, who was across the lake, barely in view. He whispered, "Hold on, Asha. We're coming."

Asha stood, paralyzed with fear as Jay pulled out his sword. He pushed the sword through the man's chest and pulled the sword out again. He seemed like an expert at this. He pushed his wrist against Asha's, and pushed the sword through them. The blood mixed together and dripped slowly onto the remnant's chest. The wound absorbed the blood and healed itself, and tendrils of dark smoke came out of the ground. They wrapped themselves around the man, forming the clothing of a famous Ex-SOLDIER.

The man's hair became even longer until it reached his knees. His forehead became more pronounced, and dark shadows grew around his eyes. A circle of flames surrounded the man and he got up. Asha suddenly saw AVALANCHE across the lake, and she felt filled with hope and elation. She turned her attention back to the man. She saw a tiny sword elongate at his side. He had been looking down, but he slowly turned his head up and smirked evilly at Asha.

He said, "My sister, it's good to see you." He held his hands out, and the flames exploded in light, knocking everyone to the ground. Standing in front of her was Sephiroth.

Jay kneeled to the ground and bowed his head. He whispered, "Sephiroth. Welcome back. We have been waiting for you."

Sephiroth looked down with disdain and said, "Well, I certainly didn't come because you asked me to."

Jay said, "We called on you because we needed your help. We are going to kill all of the traitors, and give the Promised Land back to Mother."

Sephiroth smirked and said, "You figured out how to bring me back, but still you know nothing." This angered Jay, and he stood up.

Jay shouted, "But _I _have the blood that created you, so _I _can send you back to the Hell that used to be yours to reside in!"

Sephiroth was about to say something in protest, but then Yuffie shouted, "Asha! RUN!"

AVALANCHE ran forward, and Sephiroth turned around abruptly. He smiled and said, "So the whole rag-tag crew is here. That's sweet." He looked at Asha, and used his magic to thrust her out over the lake. He turned to the remnants on either side of him and said, "Your targets are AVALANCHE. Kill them. Save Cloud for me."

They nodded and ran forward, pulling out their weapons, getting set to kill.

Cid said, "Oh, shit. Here come the fuckin' sons of a bitches. Get your weapons ready, 'cause we're gonna kick their asses and send 'em straight to Hell."

Yuffie commented sarcastically, "Did you just deplete your vocabulary of cuss words?"

He pulled out his spear and spit on the ground as he said, "Shut up, Brat. I know at least ten other words."

Yuffie didn't say anything, instead, she took out her shuriken and slashed at a remnant who had just run toward her.

They all pulled out their weapons and began to attack. Cloud began slashing apart three remnants at a time. Tifa scrambled up a tree and kicked back remnants who tried to climb up after as she called Reno for back up.

Asha hung limply, suspended in midair. Jay said, "The Ancient blood will deplete. I wouldn't kill her. You need her blood to survive."

Sephiroth said, "Dropping her in the water would be a waste. I might as well just spill all of the blood now."

He pulled her back as quickly as he could and slammed her into the rock face. She cried out in pain, and Sephiroth let her drop ten feet. Sephiroth stared at her and burst out laughing. Jay tried to laugh, but all that he could muster was a high-pitched squeak. She was curled up in a fetal position, every possible bone smashed, and her neck was bent oddly. Sephiroth said, "A useless girl. Come, let us leave her. I'll return for the blood later."

Jay dropped down and picked her up. She whispered an incantation, meant to be her last words. He kissed her quietly, and she got up.

Vincent had been watching her, and he had started to cry. He had buried his face in his hand, and Yuffie hugged him sympathetically. Reno, Rude, and Elena had dropped down, and they were watching the girl get up. No one else may have noticed it, but Reno saw it immediately. The girl had a red streak in her hair, near the nape of her neck.

Perhaps she was born with it. No. No one had hair that bright, except for Reno, of course. But, it couldn't be her. She was the Ancient.

Sephiroth had turned around, and was shouting out to Cloud. "Cloud, don't be a coward. Face your death. Or, even better." He lifted up everyone around Cloud and said, "Face the death of your friends first. Those orphans that live with you, you'll never see them again. Watch the pain on their faces as everyone they love dies. Then, death will come to them as a blessing, and, being the kind person that I am, I will give it to them."

Cloud hadn't realized that Marlene and Denzel had fallen out of the _Shera_. They were pulled forward by magic, and they were each thrown against a tree. Sephiroth laughed and turned around. Asha spit bloody saliva into his face, and he said with disgust, "I see you're still alive."

She whispered quietly, "Are you surprised?"

He snickered and pulled out his sword. He put it against her neck and Cloud, Vincent, and Reno ran forward. With inhuman strength, they jumped forward, across the lake, landing at the feet of Sephiroth. Sephiroth said, "If you move, she dies."

Cloud said, "Sephiroth, she's your sister."

Sephiroth looked at her and said, "I see no resemblance."

Vincent said quietly, "Asha, we'll help you."

Reno turned to him quietly and asked, "What's her name?"

Vincent said, "Her name is Asharya Crescent. Why?"

Reno turned away and said, "Asharya, Arya, Rya!" Rya had been the name of the girl that had lived with him. She had been a like a little sister to him, but he had trained to become a Turk, and she had disappeared about nine years ago.

He shouted out, "Rya!" and Sephiroth turned to look at him. Sephiroth put his arm around Asha's neck just as Jay stabbed him through the stomach.

He gasped quietly and watched as blood seeped through his clothes. He sprouted his wing and hovered over the lake. He quickly took his sword and stabbed Asha through the stomach. She gasped and hung limply from his hand. He was about to drop her when Vincent shot Cerberus three times at him. It hit him once in the back, once through his wing, and once in his head.

Jay stared coldly at Sephiroth and said, "You deserved it, you son of a bitch." Sephiroth grunted, and he and Asha plummeted fifty feet into the water below.

The four of them stared at the water until Jay said quietly, "They're gone." Suddenly, Jay fell to the ground. Everyone rushed forward and watched in amazement as Jay's hair turned from silver to black. He got up and said, "I can't believe they're gone."

Reno said, "I just found her, and now she's gone."

Suddenly, Denzel ran forward with Marlene in tow and said, "We're safe." He looked around and said, "Did Asha leave?"

Elena said quietly, "Yes, Asha left."

Marlene asked in an even quieter voice than Elena, "Will she come back?"

Vincent began to claw at his chest and everyone backed away as he transformed into Chaos. He beat the ground with his claws and roared at the top of his lungs, "NO! ASHA! WHY DID YOU HAVE TO DIE? LUCRECIA, WHY ARE YOU SO JEALOUS? WHY WOULD YOU TAKE HER AWAY FROM ME? I didn't even get to say goodbye!" He slowly transformed back to normal, leaving a frail form sitting on the ground in a pool of tears.

Asha opened her eyes and closed them again as the pain hit her. She eased them open again, and the pain was numb this time. She stared into Sephiroth's open eyes as he descended to the bottom of the spring, leaving a trail of blood in his wake. She realized that she was underwater, and she felt as if she was losing consciousness. She closed her eyes for the last time.

Suddenly, she felt strong, warm hands lift her up. She heard a calm voice say, "Asha, you can open your eyes now." She opened her eyes and saw that a man with spiky black hair was holding her. She was in a field of flowers, and there were three other people besides her and the man. A woman in a pink dress and red jacket, a woman in a purple dress and white labcoat, and a tiny baby.

The man said, "Asha, you can stand." She stood, and she realized exactly who everyone was.

"Zack? Aerith? Mother? Sephiroth?" she asked. Zack, Aerith, and Lucrecia nodded. "Is this where we we're going to stay until the end of time?"

Lucrecia said, "Partially. Your time with your father wasn't long enough. You're not ready to come with us."

Aerith said, "You belong back with Jay and Vincent. Sort of like how I belong with Zack and Lucrecia, because people belong with their friends and family."

Asha said, "Wait, Mother is your family?"

Lucrecia said, "Aerith is my cousin." Asha nodded and Lucrecia came over with Sephiroth. She whispered in Asha's ear, "I love you, and I love Vincent as well. I think it's time for you to go back."

Asha nodded and backed away from them. Aerith walked to her and took her hand. At that moment, everything became white, and Asha could no longer see.

At first, it felt like someone had grabbed her chest and yanked her up, but then, it just felt as if she was rising up slowly, almost levitating. Suddenly, the stupor surrounding her disappeared, and she broke the surface of the water. She gasped for breath and spit the cold water out of her mouth. She looked up and found herself staring at all of AVALANCHE, who were staring back at her in amazement.

Cid jumped into the water and she took his hand, and the two of them stumbled out of the lake. Vincent pulled her into a huge bear hug. He whispered, "Oh thank you. I'm so glad you're all right."

Suddenly, Reno came out of the crowd and said, "It's nice to see you again, Rya."

Asha looked up and asked, "Reno?" She pulled herself out of Vincent's arms and flung herself into Reno's. He swung her around and she said, "It's nice to see you too!"

Elena said, "Can someone please explain to me what the hell's going on?"

Asha said, "Reno and I lived as brother and sister for the first eleven years of my life. I still have a red streak in my hair to prove it." She lifted up her hair and showed them the red streak near the nape of her neck. She then looked around and asked, "Where's Jay? Is he dead?"

Jay came forward and said, "No, he's alive." He held out his arms, and she ran into them. Everyone turned away as they kissed and broke apart. Then Asha called Barret over, and the three of them began to talk.

The rest of AVALANCHE and the Turks sat down in small groups and began to converse quietly. After about ten minutes Asha came over and said formally, "Everyone, I need to make an announcement."

They all turned to look at her, and she continued. "I will accompany you back to Edge," she said, "and I will stay for Cloud and Tifa's wedding, but I will leave soon afterwards. I plan to become a scientist and work for Barret. I will be traveling the planet, trying to find a good substitute for mako."

Vincent asked, "Who is going to keep you safe?"

Jay stepped forward and put a protective hand on Asha's shoulder and said, "That's why I'm going with her. I'm going to protect her."

Vincent was about to protest, but then Yuffie said, "It's a great idea. Come on, let's go home."

Everyone except for Asha and Vincent loaded onto the _Shera_. Vincent waited until they were out of earshot, and then he said, "I don't want you and Jay doing anything stupid until there are wedding rings on your fingers." Asha hugged him, and they walked to the _Shera _together.


	7. Epilogue

_Four months later..._

The church bells rang wildly as the members of AVALANCHE took their places for the wedding. Cid went over the checklist that Shera had made and studied everything.

Were Asha, Yuffie, and Marlene ready? Yes. Asha and Yuffie were bridesmaids, dressed in pale blue strapless gowns, and Marlene was the flower girl, wearing a pale blue gown with spaghetti straps. Marlene had refused to take out her pink hair ribbon, so Asha and Yuffie had worn pink ribbons on their arms.

Were Vincent, Jay, and Denzel ready? Affirmative. Vincent and Jay, the groomsmen, much to their dismay, had been made over by Tifa. Their hair had been pulled back into neat ponytails, and Vincent had taken off his gauntlet and, much to Yuffie's surprise, there was a hand there. The three of them were wearing black suits with light blue ties.

Was Cloud in his spot? Check. Usually, it was Tifa who cried, but today, Cloud was a nervous wreck. He had tried to escape twice on his newly repaired motorcycle, but Barret had stopped him both times.

Barret came over and clapped Cid on the shoulder. "Get into your spot," he ordered quietly. Cid nodded and the two stood by the door as the loud church organ began to play.

First, Marlene and Denzel came in, arm in arm. Marlene was tossing tiny handfuls of flowers, and Barret almost knocked himself out trying to wipe his eyes. Denzel was holding the pillow containing the rings carefully, so he wouldn't drop them. He handed the rings to Cloud, then the two children went to opposite sides of the church.

Then, Yuffie and Vincent came in. Yuffie asked quietly, "Would it kill you to smile? This isn't a funeral, you know."

Vincent said, "You're right." Then he gave everyone a bright smile and they continued down the aisle.

Last, Jay and Asha came down the aisle. They looked like they had been through a huge war. Asha had scars on her face and arms, and Jay had scars on his face. Yet, they smiled broadly as they went down the aisle.

Soon, Tifa came down the aisle. She was wearing a long white gown and white veil trimmed with pink ribbons. She was smiling with tears in her eyes, and Asha reached down to keep Marlene from running to hug her.

She took Cloud's arm and they walked to the front of the church. They kneeled on the steps as the priest performed the vows, and they kissed gently. Asha began to cry happily, and Yuffie had to bite her hand to keep herself from bawling out loud.

As the two of them began to walk out of the church, Asha ran forward and stopped them. She pointed to the back of the church, and all of AVALANCHE saw it.

Aerith and Zack were sitting in the last pew. Aerith's head was bowed in prayer, and Zack had his hand on her shoulder. She looked up, and they smiled. AVALANCHE smiled back, and they left the church quietly.

At the reception, all went well. Vincent presented Aerith and Zack's gift to Cloud and Tifa, and Cloud's face turned completely red in embarrassment. Tifa threw the bouquet, and Asha caught it. She went over to Jay, who had caught the garter, and kissed him, but Vincent came over, took the bouquet, and thrust it into Yuffie's hands. Everyone had a great time, and no one wanted it to end.

But sadly enough, it had to. Asha and Jay got some new, more practical clothes, and left the next day. Jay shook hands with everyone, and Asha gave everyone hugs. Then, they mounted their motorcycle, waved goodbye, and drove away. Everyone turned around and walked away, leaving Vincent to stare at the disappearing motorcycle.

_Two years later..._

Marlene and Denzel burst through the doors of the Seventh Heaven. They were each wearing a pair of Denzel's clothes, and they were holding the hand of a toddler with spiky blond hair and blue eyes named Kyle. Marlene shouted, "Cloud, Tifa! The mail's here."

Cloud got up from the long dinner table to get the letters. He sat down again and put the letters on the table. Tifa sat up and asked, "Is there a letter from the doctor in there? I want to find out if the baby's a boy or a girl." Tifa was now seven months pregnant with her and Cloud's second child, and she wanted a girl more than anything.

Cloud said, "Yes," and pulled the doctor's letter out of the pile. He read it quietly and said, "Um, you're expecting a boy..." Tifa put her head in her hands and sighed. He continued, "...and two girls." Tifa screamed at the top of her lungs, and all of AVALANCHE covered their ears.

Vincent said, "You're gonna be a father three times over. Congratulations, Cloud." Cloud smiled and the fact dawned on him.

Cloud said to himself, "I'm gonna be a father!" and passed out cold. Cid slapped him, and he woke up.

Marlene walked over to Vincent and pulled on his cape. "Um, Vincent," she said, "Kyle found a letter on the ground. It's addressed to you."

He took it and said out loud, "It's from Asha. I haven't heard from her in two years." Everyone crowded around him and urged him to read it. He began, trying to decipher the untidy scrawl.

Dear Father,

I'm sorry that I haven't written in so long. I have been in constant contact with Barret, but you were never around. Jay and I have been well, and my job has been going extra well. So far, the only lead that we have had was the water in the Forgotten City and Aerith's Church. But we have also pursued a second mission, one that is more personal.

Enough about my job. Guess what? Jay proposed to me! We've been engaged for about a month now. I want to come back to Edge for the wedding, but Jay wants to go to Kalm for our wedding, considering that it was the town where he first proposed. He sends best wishes to all of you. I hope that Cloud and Tifa's marriage is going well, and I hope that everyone else is great as well.

I've included some pictures of us, a sketch of our wedding/engagement rings, and something that you might enjoy. I love you and I hope to see you soon.

Asha

Vincent studied the pictures carefully. One was a picture of Asha in her labcoat, one was a picture of Jay holding Asha, and one was a picture of the two of them hanging upside down from trees in the Forgotten City. There was also a picture of their wedding rings, which were simple silver rings with a small white Materia orb on the top of each one. But, there was nothing else.

He stood up, and heard a piece of paper crinkle. He looked down and picked up a crumpled piece of paper from under his shoe. He unfolded it and smoothed it out as neatly as possible. He read it quietly to himself, and ran out of the Seventh Heaven as quickly as possible. Before he noticed that he had left the piece of paper on the table, Cloud picked it up and read it.

It said: _To reach Dr. Lucrecia Crescent, contact her at NIBEL438._


	8. Dum da da dum

_Dum dum da dum. Dum da da dum._

It had been almost a month now, and Jay still couldn't get the song out of his head. Maybe it would go away once he proposed to Asha. Then again, maybe not.

He was still deep in thought when Asha put her hand on his arm. Her crimson eyes sparkled with excitement. Jay smiled and said jokingly, "My dear Dr. Valentine, you seem to have discovered something intellectually fascinating. What might it be, pray tell?"

Asha laughed and said, "I found a mako spring. Follow me!" She ran through the trees, dragging Jay along the way. She ran until they reached a waterfall. She paused to look at it. "I don't remember that being here," she said.

Jay peered through the rushing water and said, "It looks like there's a cave back there." He took a deep breath and stepped through the waterfall with Asha holding his hand.

_Now's the perfect time._

Jay put his arm around Asha's waist and kissed her. She looked up intently and said, "Jay..."

_Come on; keep going._

Jay said, "Asha, will you..."

Asha interrupted him, "Mother?"

Jay turned to where Asha was staring, and he saw a beautiful woman that looked like Asha, or at least a ghost of Asha, at the end of the cave.

Lucrecia said, "So this is the Jayden I've heard so much about."

Jay nodded and bowed awkwardly. He said, "Yes, Dr. Crescent, Ma'am. I'm Jay Marcroft."

Lucrecia said, "I'm very pleased to meet you, Jay Marcroft." She turned to Asha and said, "So, Asha, how has your job been going?"

Asha said, "Mother, we've found advances on reversing the process of freezing and condensing mako into Materia."

Lucrecia smiled and said, "That's wonderful."

Asha continued. "Maybe you can come back to live with us."

Lucrecia shrugged and said, "Perhaps I can," before fading away. Suddenly, she reappeared, said, "Oh, and I believe Jayden had something to say to you," and faded away again.

Asha turned to Jay and asked, "Is there something you needed to say to me?"

He stammered, "Umm...will you...allow me to contact Barret?"

She smiled and said, "Of course!"

Asha sat on the ground, studying her notes as Jay dialed the number for Barret's cell phone.

"What?" Barret shouted, almost blowing out Jay's eardrum.

Jay moved out of Asha's earshot, put the phone on speaker, and whispered, "Barret, it's me, Jay."

Barret laughed and said, "Jay! How you doing?"

Jay said with obvious urgency, "Barret, get Cloud and Cid and go somewhere where no one else will hear you. There's something I need to ask you."

Jay could hear shuffling as Barret pulled Cloud and Cid outside. Then Cloud said, "Okay, Jay, you're on speaker. What's wrong?"

Jay said, "Promise you won't tell Vincent, okay?"

Cid shouted, "Jes' get on with it!"

Jay hesitated, then asked, "How did you propose to your wives?"

Cid said, "I told Shera, 'Yer gonna marry me. Deal with it.' And, whaddayaknow, she was happy about it!"

Cloud said quietly, "I pulled Tifa aside one day and I drove her to Aerith's church in Midgar. I brought her up to the altar and proposed."

Barret said in a voice filled with sadness, "I gave Myrna a bouquet of flowers, and as she went to arrange them, she found the ring on the stem of the biggest rose. Then, when she came over to ask me about it, I popped the question."

Jay said quietly, "Thank you."

Cloud asked, "Jayden, why are you asking us this?"

Jay said hesitantly, "Um, I'm going to...uh...propose to...uh...Asha."

Barret and Cid began hollering at the top of their lungs, and Cloud said with a snicker, "Well, it's about time."

Cid suggested, "You should propose and get married in Kalm. Nice place. Where I married Shera."

Jay said, "That sounds like a good idea. Thanks. Just don't tell Vincent."

Barret said, "Never planned on it. Ye'd be dead if we told Vincent."

Asha came over and asked, "Barret, how's Dad doing?"

Cid said, "Same as ever. He's worried about ya, ya know."

Asha laughed and said, "Really, what else is new? What about the others?"

Cloud said, "Tifa's pregnant with our second child together. We don't know if it's a boy or a girl yet. We have a little boy named Kyle, along with Marlene and Denzel. Kyle's turning two next month."

Cid laughed, "Kyle's a Chocobo head, too. Just like his old man."

Asha giggled as Cloud shouted, "I ain't over the hill yet, you old fart!" Cloud definitely hung out with Cid and Barret too much.

Asha and Jay could also hear a little boy in the background saying, "Daddy a Cho-co-bo head!"

Jay said, "So, we'll see you soon; Bye!" then he hung up the phone.

Asha looked at him and asked, "What were you talking about?"

Jay stammered, "N...n...nothing! Um, hey, let's go to Kalm! It's been a couple years since we took a vacation."

Asha shrugged and said, "I'd rather go to Costa de Sol."

Jay protested, "But that's not romant...I mean, I grew up in Kalm, and I haven't been there in years."

Asha sighed jokingly and said, "Fine."

In Kalm, it was almost twilight. Asha said, "It's pretty nice."

Jay said, "I have a small house here." Truthfully, he had bought the house and everything they would need via phone on the way, but Asha would never know.

He walked over to the house and pulled the key out of the potted plant next to the door. He put the key in the lock and entered the house.

It was wonderful, filled with science books and a training room. Asha cried out with joy and put her labcoat on a hook. She began to gush over the books until Jay took her hand.

"I want to show you the view," he said quietly.

He had checked Asha's laptop and had mainly bought the house because of the view. He brought Asha upstairs, where there was a huge bedroom and a large window.

The window provided a perfect view of the town square, where a band was playing a slow song. Asha was gazing out the window when Jay began to sing along.

Asha turned to him, smiled, and began to sing as well.

_If every word I said could make you laugh, I'd talk forever._

Asha smiled and said, "I can barely hear the music from up here. Let's go outside so we can hear better."

Jay nodded and they went outside.

The man on the guitar smiled at them and started the song over.

Jay put his hands on Asha's waist, but Asha backed away and said, "No. I can't dance."

Jay said, "Don't worry. I'll teach you the easy way." He put his arms around her lower back and directed, "Now put your arms around my neck." Asha did as she was told, and Jay began to lead.

Asha ended up tripping, and she cried, "See? I told you I can't dance."

He explained calmly, "You're too tense. We're also too far apart. Just try it one more time."

She nodded, and the band started over again. Jay pulled Asha close, and they began to sway in time to the music.

Asha placed her head on Jay's shoulder, and he breathed in the scent from her hair. By the time the band had finished the song, Asha was fast asleep on Jay's shoulder. Jay took a hundred gil from his pocket and tossed it to the guitarist.

Jay picked her up and carried her to their house. He pulled down the covers and placed her on the bed. He was about to walk away when Asha sat up and grabbed his arm.

He smiled gently and tossed her a nightgown that he had bought for her.

Jay pulled out a pair of pajama pants that he had bought and changed into them. He turned around and surveyed Asha. The nightgown fit. That was good.

A bolt of lighting suddenly lit up the sky. Asha almost toppled over herself trying to run away from the window.

Jay closed the window, and Asha ran over to embrace him. She began to cry, and Jay sat her down on the bed. He kneeled at the side of the bed, his hands over hers, and asked, "Asha, what's wrong?"

Asha gasped, "When I was five, Reno and I got locked outside. There was a thunderstorm going on, and Reno went to find the hidden key. He was looking for it, and a bolt of lightning hit him. It almost killed him. I had to drag him out of the thunderstorm and wait for help. I thought he was going to die." She began to sob uncontrollably, and Jay held her close.

"It's going to be okay," he whispered. "I'll protect you."

She nodded and climbed into the bed. Jay climbed in on the other side, and Asha snuggled close to him.

The sound of Jay's heartbeat filled Asha's ears, drowning out the sound of the thunder. She adjusted the charm on her neck, an anti-pregnancy charm, as Jay kissed her and began to lift off her nightgown.

Asha giggled nervously, "I've never done this before."

Jay breathed, "Neither have I. We'll just have to figure it out as we go, won't we?"

Asha nodded and waited patiently as Jay pulled his clothes off. He pulled her closed and laid down on his back. Asha sat on top of him.

_Boom..._

As the thunder boomed, Asha gasped in initial surprise, but then she relaxed, and they broke apart.

Asha and Jay were both panting hard, lying on their backs, but Asha picked herself up and dragged herself over to Jay. She put her head on his chest, wet with perspiration.

Asha gasped, "My father would LOVE to see this."

Jay smiled shakily and said, "Let's just hope he never finds out."

She giggled, "I'm all tingly. I don't think I'll be able to sleep."

He turned over so he was facing her, and began to rub small circles on her back. Asha curled up against Jay, sighed with content, and fell asleep. He whispered into her short black hair, "Sweet dreams, Asha."

Jay awoke quietly the next morning and put his clothes on. He wrote a note for Asha and left it on the kitchen counter. Then he left the house and went to the armor shop. He bought two silver bands, one slightly smaller than the other.

Then he continued to the Materia shop, where he bought two orbs of white Materia. He had a local blacksmith meld the two together, and then he proceeded to the beach, where Asha would be waiting.

Asha was there. She was sitting on a sand dune and playing with a loose thread on her sweater. Jay came over and sat down next to her. She put her head on his shoulder and said, "You wanted to talk to me about something?"

Jay swallowed and said, "Yes. It's really important, so please don't interrupt me."

Asha nodded, and Jay continued. "Asha, I've known you for almost two years now. You're going to be twenty-one soon, and I turned twenty-three a couple months ago. And I realize now, that, I love you..."

"I love you, too, Jay," Asha interrupted, but Jay stopped her.

"I wasn't finished yet, and I told you not to interrupt," he reprimanded firmly. He shook his head and said, "This is important, so please listen." Asha nodded, and Jay continued. "I know now that I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

Asha gasped and breathed, "Does this mean..."

She had interrupted again, but Jay didn't mind. He smiled and said, "Yes." He helped her up off of the sand dune and kneeled down. He pulled out the ring and said, "Asharya Crescent Valentine, will you marry me?" He slipped the ring onto her finger and put the other one on his.

Asha sank down into the sand and began to cry. She buried her head in Jay's shoulder and after about five minutes, she whispered into his ear, "Yes!"

Jay had been prepared for her to say no, so when he heard her response, he sat motionless, bidding his mouth to form sounds and words, unable to bring himself to do it. He just laughed breathlessly. Then Asha got up. She said quickly, "I need to write a letter to my father!"

As she ran away, Jay stared out at the sea and said, "Barret, Cloud, Cid: Thanks." And although they were far away, he could almost hear them responding.


	9. The Last Goodbye

**A/N: I don't own anything! This is the last chapter. It's a more somber ending, but I found it fitting. And, if you can tell me where the name of the minor character in this chapter is from, I'll write a oneshot catering to your wishes. That's going to be my trademark, so in the last chapter of every story I write, there will be a minor character with a name that you have to guess the origin of.

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Vincent tapped his foot nervously as the chopper hovered near Nibelheim. The young pilot, Niklas, asked, "Is everything all right, sir?"

Vincent said, "Yes, everything is fine."

Niklas turned back to the controls and said, "Good, because you can jump out now." Vincent nodded, and Niklas saluted him. He jumped out the side and landed cleanly on his feet. With inhuman speed he ran through the town and pushed his way into the manor.

He stood in the nostalgic place for a few moments, remembering the two long sleeps in that godforsaken coffin, and everything else that had happened there. He slowly and deliberately walked up the stairs and down another flight to the laboratory. He examined the lab, and he suddenly heard a quiet voice say, "It brings back memories, doesn't it?"

Vincent turned around, and blood stained eyes met chocolate brown ones. Lucrecia smiled shyly and said, "It's been a long time, Vincent."

Vincent reached out, and hesitated. Lucrecia said quietly, "It's alright. I'm real." Vincent reached out again and touched her hair. He ran his fingers through her hair, then began to gently caress her face. When his fingers came away wet, he looked at her in concern.

Lucrecia said, "This can't last for much longer."

Vincent said, "What do you mean, Lucrecia, this can last forever. We can finally be together!"

Lucrecia sobbed, "Vincent, don't you see? We can never be together! I'm dead! I only have enough strength to last for a few more minutes, then my spirit will return to the Lifestream again! The only reason I lasted this long was to see you again."

Vincent wordlessly pulled the mother of his child into an embrace. Every emotion was spilled out in that embrace. Every question that either had was answered. Lucrecia said quietly, "I came to see if you would be alright. I want there to be someone for you to spend the rest of your life with. If not as a lover, then as a friend."

Vincent said into her hair, "There is no one, and there will never be anyone who can take your place."

Lucrecia said, "There is one who loves you. A girl by the name of Yuffie Kisaragi."

Vincent backed away and said in a startled voice, "Yuffie?"

Lucrecia nodded and said, "Be her friend. She needs one now. She tries to hide it, but she's afraid inside. She loves you, and she knows that you will never return that feeling." Suddenly, she separated herself from Vincent and said, "Promise me! You'll love Yuffie after I die."

Vincent said slowly, "I will never be able to love Yuffie the way I love you."

Lucrecia smiled and said, "You already do."

Vincent sighed and said, "I promise, Lucrecia, to love Yuffie after you die."

Suddenly, Lucrecia grabbed at her chest and fell to her knees. Vincent cradled her in his arms, and Lucrecia touched his chest. He felt a quick jab of pain, and then emptiness.

Lucrecia gasped, "I removed the monsters from your body. It's the least I can do, after you gave Asha to me."

Vincent asked, "What are you talking about. You gave my life back when I discovered that Asha was my daughter. And, now she's getting married."

Lucrecia said, "So Jayden proposed to her. That's what he was saying." A funny thought came to her, and she began to laugh harshly.

Vincent looked over himself and asked suspiciously, "What's so funny?"

She giggled and said in a breathy voice, "I suppose you'll have to be the mother of the bride as well as the father. Give my blessings to Asha and her husband when they marry."

Vincent shuddered at that thought, and Lucrecia sighed, "I wish I could see her, all grown up and beautiful."

A tear fell down her cheek, and Vincent kissed the tear. Lucrecia gasped, "Vincent, I ...love you."

She had never said those three words to him. There had been passion, and lust, but there had never been love before. Vincent realized that was where Asha had come in. She had permenantly connected the two of them, creating a bond of love. Vincent said hesitantly, "I love you, too, Lucrecia."

Lucrecia smiled, tears falling down her cheeks, and whispered, "Remember who else you must love."

With that, her spirit permanently returned to the Lifestream. Vincent said nothing; he merely let the tears threaten to fall as her body dissolved into blue energy. After a few minutes, he got up and exited the manor.

As he left the town, it began to rain, the gusts of wind blowing his hair and cape into his face. A dark figure appeared in front of him, and after moving closer, he could see who it was.

They stood, face to face, in the rain for a few minutes. Then the figure said, "Vincent..."

That voice was too much to bear. Vincent began to cry harshly. As he choked on his sobs, and the figure walked forward slowly. They wrapped their arms around Vincent's waist and into that embrace, they poured as much comfort and compassion as they could muster.

Vincent's sobs slowly subsided, and he wrapped his cloak around the small figure, embracing them back. He kissed the top of their head and said, "I know this now, I've always loved you... Yuffie."

Yuffie didn't react like he had expected. He had expected her to scream and drag him into the nearest secluded place. She merely said, "You don't have to say anything right now." She turned around, Vincent's arms still holding the cloak around her.

She said quietly, "No matter how dark the night, morning always comes. It'll get better. I promise." She walked slowly forward, allowing Vincent to hold her to his side. As they boarded the chopper, Niklas saluted the two passengers and flew back to Edge.

Vincent fell asleep across a passenger bench, Yuffie held in his arms. After listening to his breath for a few minutes, she kissed his throat (which was all she could reach) and whispered, "I love you too, Vincent. I'll be there for you, always."

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**Owari. Thank you for reading.**

**dark-conjuror**


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